Arsenal News: Nasri Out for a Month But Squillaci May Sign

The season isn't even a week old and we have yet another player out injured as the club announced yesterday that Nasri will be out for a month after having an operation on his knee. If he is back in a month I will be shocked as the projected length of time the club gives for injuries can usually be multiplied by at least two. 

When the team came back for preseason training, we were told that Bendtner was a week behind the rest of the team only for us to be later told that he would not be back until October. All through last season we were given projected return dates for injured players that then just slipped away without another word being mentioned on the subject. At this stage, I find it impossible to believe any timescale we are given for players returns.

As it stands, our most impressive player in our preseason games is now unavailable for at least a month and more than likely a good deal longer. Our most promising young player who looked a certainty to nail down a first team place this season is out until at least November as Ramsey continues his recovery and our top scoring striker in the second half of last season is out until October as Bendtner suffers for his World Cup exploits.

If I was to be honest I would say that both Nasri and Ramsey should be in our best starting 11 and we are also short of a goalkeeper for other reasons. The centre back issue is another one that needs resolving and I'm still not sure if Koscielny is the ideal partner for Vermaelen as well as the fact that we definitely need a new centre back to complete the squad.

Looking back on Sunday's game, I wonder if Nasri's injury affected his game in the second half as he looked so good in the first 45 minutes but not the same player after the break. He's had a very good preseason, and like many other Arsenal fans I hoped that he would bring that form into this campaign as he looked to put the memory of his non-inclusion in the French World Cup squad behind him.

I would imagine that Cesc is due to return to the team on Saturday and Nasri would have played alongside him with Song behind them, but now our options are either Rosicky or Diaby in that position.

There are reports that we are on the brink of signing 30-year-old Sevilla and France centre back Sebastien Squillaci and that he was pulled out of their Champions League qualifier against Braga last night so that he would be available to play for us in the group stages of that competition.

He's not a player that I know too much about but he has played 20 times for France and his previous clubs include Lyon and Monaco. He's 6'1" tall and he fits the bill for an Arsenal signing as he's French and won't cost too much.

We have apparently been snubbed by Kwadwo Asamoah of Udinese despite the fact that we never actually bid for him and it was his agent who tried to flog him to us.

Another player supposedly close to signing for us is Fiorentina and Italy midfielder Riccardo Montolivo but again it's a rumour I would take with a grain of salt.

The Mark Schwarzer stories just won't go away and if the latest ones are to be believed we will eventually get our man when Fulham manage to line up a replacement. 

Arsenal's reserves are in Ireland at the moment for a tournament with "Manure's" reserves and Shamrock Rovers. I'd like to go to at least one of the games, but other commitments won't allow it, which is a pity.

Interesting inclusions in the squad are Frimpong, Lansbury, JET, Nordtveit, and Eastmond, which means that none of them will be included in Saturday's squad for the visit of Blackpool. That would indicate to me that we will see Djourou and Song playing on Saturday with Koscielny suspended and of course Cesc should be playing too.

The Clock End will return in that game against Blackpool on Saturday along with the North Bank, the East Stand, and the West Stand, and the club are urging all fans to get there early for the welcoming ceremony. It's a welcome change from those coloured quadrants that gave the stadium such an unfriendly feeling to it.

The club have a new initiative called Fanshare and it's aimed at the ordinary fans such as you and I. For the sum of approximately £95 you can buy a 100th portion of a share in Arsenal and from what I can understand it's aimed at ensuring that the club doesn't end up in the hands of one individual.

I'd like to tell you a little more about it but the site is down due to the huge numbers of people trying to access it. My main question on it is where the shares that the fans will buy a portion of will come from and when I find that out I'll report back.

That's the lot for today but I'll leave you with a couple of clips to watch.

Here's a little bit of how Nasri performed on Sunday.

This is a fantastic penalty from a young Spanish player.

See You Tomorrow.