That would be Barca, inside Arsenal's training ground, which they're using as their base for the ECL final :lol:

I'm just glad Cesc is a long long way away in America with RvP.

America is only a flight away from Barcelona ;)

According to the Daily Mail we have bid 8m for Chris Samba. Have to say I wouldn't be dissapointed with that. Just what we need at the back.

I guess it helps that he would want to come to Arsenal and has revealed that he was a close to a move to us in January but it obviously didn't eventuate. Really makes you wonder what would have been had we signed him then.

He's worth more than 8 million IMO. Still, i don't like his chances of him staying, although I pray he does. Him and Nelson together at the back is one solid partnership.

I'd agree. I think he's worth probably in the 12m range. I think he'll be off. He's admitted he was close to leaving in January and I don't think Blackburn would stand in his way if he wanted to leave this summer.

[size=6]Player of the Season - and the winner is...[/size]

It's time to announce the Arsenal.com Player of the Season - as voted for by the fans.

And the winner is... Jack Wilshere.

The 19-year-old enjoyed a meteoric rise in 2010/11, starting the campaign on the fringes of the Arsenal side and ending it as a regular for club and country.

Jack received 41.4 per cent of the votes in our poll. Here, Arsenal.com reporter Chris Harris gives his verdict on the young midfielder.

“The thing that is different about Jack is that he is very consistent. You hardly ever see him have a bad game. We have got lots of players in the Reserves that are very good players, in my opinion even as good as Jack on their day. But they don’t have that day as often and that is where the difference is."

Of all the tributes paid to Jack Wilshere in recent months, perhaps the most telling was that one from Emmanuel Frimpong.

The midfielder is nine days younger than Wilshere, has grown up alongside him at Arsenal, won the Youth Cup with him two years ago and has designs on a first-team place of his own in the not-too-distant future.

But like all of the talent bubbling under at London Colney, Frimpong needs to produce the goods week-in week-out to emulate his friend. Because it's consistency, as much as quality, that has transformed Wilshere from a promising youngster into a mainstay for club and country.

Samir Nasri was Arsenal's stand-out performer before Christmas. Robin van Persie was a class above in the New Year. But Wilshere was exceptional from August to May, a midfield metronome for all seasons.

It's hard to believe how far Wilshere has come in such a short period. This time last year he was, in Arsène Wenger's words, "completing his footballing education" with a loan spell at Bolton. The Reebok was perhaps an unlikely finishing school but it hardened Wilshere and gave him valuable time in the centre of the pitch after starting his Arsenal career on the flank.

Even so, if there had been a betting market for Arsenal's Player of the Season in 2010/11 you could probably have named your price if you were backing Wilshere. He was still only 18, for heaven's sake, and Wenger had a battery of midfield talent at his disposal.

That all changed in pre-season. Wilshere was practically an ever-present and his stock climbed again when Fabio Capello handed him his international debut against Hungary in August - partly due to the teenager's promise, partly a reaction to England's World Cup woes and the demand for a 'new generation' to be given its head.

Wilshere did well in his brief Wembley cameo and his next opportunity was just around the corner: a starting place on the opening weekend of the Premier League season at Liverpool.

Perhaps he would not have featured that day had Cesc Fabregas or Alex Song been fully fit, but Wilshere did not look out of place and gave Steven Gerrard and company a run for their money during the hour he spent on the Anfield pitch.

You might have expected the youngster to take a back seat after that. But Wenger picked him again. And again. And again. And as the weeks and months unfolded, it became increasingly obvious - Wilshere was a bonafide Premier League player and deserved his place in the team.

His position helped his development. Wilshere emerged through the ranks as an advanced, goalscoring midfielder, but for the first team he was deployed in a deeper role alongside Alex Song. It gave Wilshere a chance to see the play in front of him, allowing him to pick his passes and choose his forward runs carefully.

That partly explains why the goals that littered his climb through the youth ranks have dried up. Wilshere did score against Shakhtar Donetsk and Aston Villa but he may need a positional tweak as well as the experience that brings calmness in the penalty area to get back among the goals.

It's hard to pick holes in any other area of Wilshere's game. He is a tenacious tackler, a wonderful passer - remember his assist for Nicklas Bendtner against Ipswich? - and can drift past opponents with a drop of the shoulder. What's more, he's got bottle and lots of it. When the chips are down Wilshere lifts his team - whether he's in the Nou Camp or the local park.

The 19-year-old admitted that he had exceeded his own expectations in 2010/11 and no wonder. He made 49 appearances for Arsenal - more than any team-mate - and was honoured by his peers in April when the PFA made him their Young Player of the Year.

Arsenal's fans have followed suit and you cannot blame them. They love to see a genuine local talent come good and Wilshere's attitude has also won him support. He shows his emotions, he clearly loves the Club and he connects with the supporters more than most players - Wilshere has more than half a million followers on Twitter.

Our Player of the Season was clearly tiring as the Premier League finish line homed into view but his omission from the England Under-21 squad this summer should afford him a long, deserved rest.

That's just as well - Wilshere has been billed as the future of England but, more importantly, he's the future of Arsenal too.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/player-of-the-season-and-the-winner-is...

About the possible departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasir, Wenger said:
"Fabregas will not go this summer. Last summer, Barcelone made offers, but on this one, there is no offers at all. He's the best midfielder in the world, we built the team with him around him. He's our captain, we want to keep him at any cost.

Wenger had an interview on French radio the other night and had some very interesting things to say. He spoke about this past season, potential signings, Cesc and Nasri, Karim Benzema, changing his philosophy and his plans for the summer.


Wenger on Arsenal's 2010-2011 season:
"I was upset. We though we could win all the trophies, but we failed due to a lack of character. It is the most frustrating season I've had to go through.
"The team played some of the best football I saw at Arsenal, but failed to reach the top when needed. It is frustrating and questionning. We need maturity."

On potential signings, Wenger said:
"We will try to buy players who could gave us what we need. It's a difficult task. Firstly, we have to enforce defensive line. We lost points against teams who play the natural English way of football, with long balls and physical struggle.
"So we need players who know how to manage this kind of game, which means English players, or players who know the Premier League."

About the possible departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasir, Wenger said:
"Fabregas will not go this summer. Last summer, Barcelone made offers, but on this one, there is no offers at all. He's the best midfielder in the world, we built the team with him around him. He's our captain, we want to keep him at any cost.
"Regarding Nasri, one thing is absolutely sure, that we will not sell him to Manchester United. We have a financial disagreement with the player, and I will work on it during the summer, to ensure he will extend his contract."

Regarding Arsenal's rumoured interest in Karim Benzema, Wenger said:
"As far as I know, Madrid doesn't want to sell the player, wich is understandable. And the fact that Zidane is now close to the club will reinforce possibility of that Benzema won't move."

On his philosophy for next season, Wenger said:
"Only world class players can reinforce our team, because we already have a world-class quality football. The target is to keep our qualities, strengthen them and get rid of our weaknesses.
"We still have to improve offensively, because we are an offensive team. There are people who ask me to change our way to play, but I think we have to keep going with this style of play."

On his plan to travel to South America on holiday, Wenger said:
"I will spent my holidays there, scouting players and meeting people in South America."

What does our Asian tour have to do with quality signings :lol:

they are doing it because it will get the club a lot more money by spruiking themselves in Asia, rather than going around Austria.

The money is already there to make quality signings if we wanted to.

i guess, but with these added funds Wenger will hardly be able to justify not signing because of fianancial security