Arsenal To Run the Injury Gauntlet in Tonight's Internationals

Tonight sees most, if not all, of this week's pointless international friendlies played. So, like most other top flight teams' fans, Arsenal supporters will be waiting to find out if this ridiculous round of matches will have a higher cost than simply interrupting the club's preparations for the new season at a critical stage.

With the injury situation at the club already at a quite preposterous extent considering the season hasn't even started yet, Arsenal can ill afford any more players to pick up knocks in these internationals. Fingers crossed everyone comes through tonight in one piece.

I will be enduring the England game later. The presence of Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, and Theo Walcott should make the usual England drivel at least relatively bearable. I won't be supporting England, but obviously I hope those lads have a good night and do well. That said, I won't be too bothered if none of them get on the pitch if it means all three come back injury free.

So what Arsenal news to report this morning? Well, another central defender has left the club, albeit temporarily. Youngster Kyle Bartley is returning to Sheffield United on loan.

He's one that Arsene Wenger is known to rate quite highly, so I'm a little surprised to see him go out given the current situation in our defence. But I suppose if the boss doesn't think he's ready then there's no point in him kicking around in Arsenal's reserves when he could be playing first team football.

Along the same lines, Nacer Barazite—another promising youngster—looks set to leave Arsenal permanently as he is on trial at Rangers with a view to signing for them. Not such a surprise really, despite being there or thereabouts in the reserves, Barazite has never really threatened to make the step up to the Arsenal first team. If it's first team football he wants, he's better off looking elsewhere.

Now, I think Arsenal fans can all agree that we like Samir Nasri, and I'm even more confident we can agree that we like mocking Joey Barton. Therefore, these comments from Nasri are very welcome indeed.

He talks about the encounter he had with Barton in a league game against Newcastle, and says, "During one of my first matches in England, we played Newcastle and Barton tried to intimidate me. It definitely made me a better player.

"The Premier League demands a lot of effort because there is so much intensity and you can't cheat.

"Since that day, I have improved a lot. Thank you Mr. Barton!"

I must admit, I'm very much astonished that Joey Barton has proved to be good for anything, the moronic little troll. But nether the less, he appears to be one of many things fuelling a real fire in Nasri at the moment. I hope this determination of his lasts because if it does then I think Nasri could find himself a crucial player in Arsenal's season.

Arsenal will need their players to display determination like Nasri's if they are to be successful this season. Arsene Wenger is predicting one of the toughest seasons of Premier League football yet and he could well be right. 

There are more top class teams in the league than ever before with Tottenham, much as I hate to say it, looking pretty good; Manchester City having spent their way into genuine contention; Liverpool with every chance of finding a resurgence under Roy Hodgson; as well as the old familiar faces of Manchester United and Chelsea.

As well as that you have the healthy looking teams of Everton, Aston Villa, and Fulham. I think we may well see a lot of dropped points again this season, not just by Arsenal but by all the top sides. There's simply too many tough games in the season to win them all. No side stands head and shoulders above all the others in my opinion.

It is going to make for an exciting season, but to come out on top Arsenal will need a fighting spirit as well as a real improvement in their defensive organisation.

Finally for today, I must admit I had a good chuckle when I read Arseblogger's suggestion last month that Xavi is actually mentally ill, and has some kind of obsession with Cesc Fabregas.

However, now I'm revisiting it and seeing the truth in that article's words. I am doing so in light of Xavi coming out with the following comments about Fabregas, long after everyone else has accepted it is a dead issue. He says, "We've given up on the idea of him arriving now, but maybe he'll come in January when Arsenal are out of the Premier League title race. Their team are just not competitive.

"Arsenal are wrong to have forced him to remain there, they can't just hold him against his will."

Honestly, the man should seek professional help, and he should do it immediately. I don't even feel angry reading his comments, I feel a strange kind of pity for him. Absolutely everyone else, including Cesc Fabregas himself, has let the matter drop for now.

It may well be that Fabregas moves to Barcelona in the next year or two, I think we all know it's a possibility but it's not tremendously relevant to Arsenal or Barcelona or even Cesc Fabregas at the moment because it's not happening right now.

The only person getting worked up over it is Xavi, and it's not normal for a human being to be so publicly obsessed with somebody else's plans for the future. Xavi could well be an unbalanced man. I'm concerned he may start breaking into Arsenal fans' homes to boil their pet rabbits. Get the man some medical help.

On that note, I'm off to work, but I'm going to be very careful in case Xavi tries to perform a hit and run on me or something. Take it easy, and I'll speak to you tomorrow if Xavi doesn't get one of us first.