I posted an article this afternoon which with the title “Gonzalo Higuain Move On The Rocks”, where I disputed the validity of the Higuain to Arsenal move.

I cited the fact that certain websites “claim” that deals have been done and dusted for certain players already this summer, including Gonzalo Higuain, Marouane Fellaini, David Villa, Ashley Williams and Yaya Sanogo without any actually happening.

The only websites I check for transfer deals are Arseblog, BBC Football and the Official Arsenal website when it comes to having deals confirmed.

Even reputable sites get things wrong, like when the Telegraph confirmed that Arsenal had signed a kit deal with Adidas for example.

The vast majority of the media are playing guessing games, putting two and two together and getting five.

The response to the article, despite having made several half-decent points, was unsurprising and I knew what would happen. The claims of “hit whoring” and similar accusations were banded about, despite the fact that my Arsenal blog is one of the very few out there with no advertising and makes no money from hits. Actually, the more hits I get the more money it costs me but that’s by the by.

Anyway, to the main point – the anger at even the suggestion that the deal for Higuain deal might not happen shows the pressure Arsenal are under to please the fans this season, and make a serious bid for the title next season. Summer after summer we’ve had signings like Sebastian Squillaci, Gervinho and Andre Santos it’s clear Arsenal fans are growingly frustrated and need some top quality recruitments.

But would Arsenal fans be happy with just Higuain? We need 4/5 top class players to really compete at the top and bringing in the Argentine striker would need to be the start.

For me, we need central defensive reinforcements, more strength in midfield and another playmaker to take the burden off Cazorla, who badly needed a rest last season.

Possibly.

It seems like a done deal that Arsenal have signed Gonzalo Higuain. If reports are to be believed, then we have smashed our transfer record of £16 million (previously set by Andrei Arshavin, or Jose Antonio Reyes) by a mile, apparently agreeing a £22 million fee with Real Madrid for the Argentine’s services.

We’ve also in the process made him our highest paid player, comfortably beating Theo Walcott’s wage of £100,000 per week, after reportedly offering to pay Higuain £130,000 a week.

There is no doubt that Higuain is a fantastic player. His goalscoring record is excellent and he is only 25 years old. It would make sense for Arsene to buy him, which makes it easy for the media to put two and two together. His age, his ability and goalscoring talents are all excellent attributes to have and something which Arsenal badly need.

On top of that, he has experience of winning things, having won La Liga 3 times and the Copa del Rey.

And his arrival would be that perfect marquee signing everyone wants. It would signal our intentions for the coming season and tell other players we might want to sign that we mean business.

But how much of a done deal is it?

Maybe I’m just being pessimistic because over the last few years we’ve brought in players like Gervinho, Sebastian Squillaci, Marouane Chamakh and Andre Santos who are signings we’ve spent half-decent money on (either through transfer fees or wages) and in the past we’ve been linked with big name players (and some cases the “deal has been done”) yet they were just hot air and rumours.

I mean, if you visit one particular website (I’m not going to mention it here and you will all know which one I am talking about) in the past we’ve had “done deals” for players such as Stevan Jovetic, Yohan Cabaye, Ashley Williams, Wayne Rooney, David Villa, Marouane Fellaini, Julio Cesar and Yaya Sanogo if stories are to believed.

And the problem now is even the reputable “sources” can get things wrong, especially during silly season.

I would love it if Higuain joined us. He’s not in the A List category (a la Messi, Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, etc.) but he is comfortably in the next tier of excellent players, in the same league as Tevez, Mata and Van Persie. He is definitely a player that would make a massive impact with us next season.

When will it be confirmed? Is there any real substance to the story? Surely only Higuain’s representatives, Arsenal and Real Madrid know at this stage?

Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would have heard that Theo Walcott has signed a new deal with Arsenal. His current (well, previous) contract was due to expire in the summer which would have meant he could have left on a free to the highest bidder. Reportedly, Liverpool and Chelsea were leading the chase for the speedy 23 year old.

But quite surprisingly, yesterday Arsenal confirmed he signed a new deal.

He rejected a 5 year deal worth £75,000 per week and stalled on signing a new contract until this weekend, which is a 3 year deal worth £100,000 per week, which makes him our highest paid player. For his “loyalty” as well, he was rewarded with a £3 million “signing-on bonus”.

So all the speculation (for now) about Theo leaving will finally be over. But how do you feel about the way it has been handled, what Theo did and whether it was worth it?

There is no doubt Theo is a talented player, who on his day can be devastating. His pace is unrivalled and his finishing (and crossing) has improved greatly. But he still has the same flaws – namely that when put against intelligent and experienced defenders – he struggles.

Against lower league opposition he can be a major handful. But as shown against Manchester City last weekend, he was hugely ineffective. And we still don’t know where Arsene is thinking of playing him.

His refusal to sign a new deal over the last few months has brought up another problem, which is where he wants to play. Comparisons to Thierry Henry have been banded about but Titi was on another level – he was special and one of the greatest players to have ever graced the game, never mind Arsenal Football Club. Regular readers will know that one of the biggest annoyances I have is they Thierry never won the World Player of the Year. That being said, Theo is not in the same league.

With the ball in behind he is pretty much unstoppable. But strikers need more than electric pace and finishing, they need to hold the ball up and be able to compete in the air sometimes. That’s why Theo should concentrate on developing his game from wide positions where his pace can be used to greater effect.

But then Arsene could solve this by scrapping the 4-3-3 system and going back to a 4-4-2. That would please Theo by allowing him to play up top and give him a partner to play off, like Giroud. I can’t see why that wouldn’t happen and it would give us much better balance in the side. Our best sides have always played 4-4-2. Cazorla and Oxlade-Chamberlain are quick, skilful and intelligent enough to be like Bobby and Freddie on the wings and Arteta and Wilshere in the middle would be a hell of a central midfield pairing.

But without wanting to drift away from the topic too much, now that Arsene has pinned Theo down to a 3 year contract, we can start concentrating on developing our first eleven and matters on the pitch.

Now that Theo has committed to Arsenal (and is “like a new signing”) it might be worth actually going out and making some actual signings to strengthen our squad.

Is Theo deserving of being our highest paid player? Is he our best player? I don’t know how much Jack and The Ox are on but I’m pretty sure it’s peanuts compared to what Theo is now on. If anyone has details on what wages our players are on I would be interested in knowing!

As Theo’s contract situation doesn’t seem to be any closer to being resolved, it now emerges that one of the factors whether he stays at Arsenal or not, is whether he is selected as a striker in the future.

After turning down a new 5 year deal worth £75,000 per week, his season doesn’t look to get any better after being pushed down the pecking order behind Gervinho, Podolski, Giroud and even Ramsey as our attacking options.

Maybe Arsene Wenger feels he’s spent enough time and effort with Theo and that he just hasn’t produced the goods. Podolski looks like he’s relishing life at Arsenal, Giroud will get there in time and even Gervinho looks like improving on his disappointing first season.

Personally, I like Theo and he’s given us some special moments, like those lightening runs against Liverpool and AC Milan in the Champions League, but not often enough.

His blistering pace in unrivalled and is a deadly weapon on his day, but too often Arsenal face teams that sit deep and in that respect, he’s usually rendered useless.

But at times his finishing is good – he’s scored memorable goals against Chelsea, and in a way I’d like to see him played upfront. But with Podolski and Giroud in the squad, and with his contract situation unresolved, I can’t see it happening.