The worst kept secret of the week has finally been completed, and Sebastien Squillaci is now officially an Arsenal player. I’m sure you know all about him now from reading about him for the last couple of weeks, so I won’t bore you by repeating his vital statistics.

I will say one thing though, what is it with Arsene and centre-backs with difficult to spell surnames?

We had Thomas Vermaelen, which I can fortunately spell without Wikipedia anymore, and we’ve brought in Kos…  Koscielny and now Squillaci. Okay, it’s probably down to me being dyslexic but still…

It’s a welcome addition and we now have 4 quality central defenders, which can only be good. And I feel a lot more comfortable than I did last season on that front, when we had Senderos and Silvestre on our books.

So as far as I’m concerned that’s the defence sorted out. 4 central defenders, none of which are Silvestre, is great news. Now it’s only the goalkeeping situation that needs sorting out…

And no news on the Mark Schwarzer front.

I won’t get into Almunia and the argument whether he should be Arsenal’s number one. I’ve defended him enough over the last 5/6 seasons but enough is enough. He makes too many errors and the goalkeeping position is a hugely important one. In a game where confidence is king having a dodgy goalkeeper is having a major handicap.

The team on the whole has more confidence if they know the man behind the sticks is reliable.

But is the Australian the solution?

I’ve always thought he was a decent goalkeeper but I never really thought I would see him in an Arsenal shirt. Yes, he is experienced but you could say that about a lot of goalkeepers, like David James for instance. My point is Arsenal’s goalkeeping scouts aren’t exactly covering themselves in glory at the moment.

We did well to bring in Lehmann, but he was frozen out for Almunia. We really should have kept Jens a couple of more years and used that time to find a proper replacement. Now we’re stuck with 2 goalkeepers who make more errors than a Windows Vista Operating System.

Are we ever going to bring anyone good enough in? Wenger was fortunate to inherit one of the greatest goalkeepers to ever play in the Premier League, but since then we’ve missed out on players like Van Der Sar (an unbelievable bargain at £2 million).

Maybe our set-up just isn’t capable of spotting a decent keeper, because I’ve yet to be convinced about Schwarzer.

Well, Blackpool were hit for six weren’t they?

The biggest talking point of the weekend was the fantastic performance of Theo Walcott, and his well-deserved hattrick. More specifically, the seemingly unnecessary criticism of Walcott by Alan Hansen on Match of the Day.

Let me say first of all I thought Walcott was stunningly good, but let’s not forget that the kid is only 21. And as strange as it sounds, despite not being a stick on starter for Arsenal, he is more than good enough to be in the England squad and probably should be in the first eleven. But that’s another debate for another day.

Arsenal fans are taking exception to the “analysis” Hansen made of Walcott but I think people are taking things a little bit too much to heart. The main point he was making was that Walcott was a far better player when he is instinctive and doesn’t have time to think, which is a fair analysis. Walcott is devastating when at full speed, and in fact my favourite Walcott moments for Arsenal are in the build-ups to stunning counter attacks, like the Arshavin and Adebayor goals at Anfield. When he is on it, Walcott is breathtaking. And I would have to agree, when he’s a full pelt and doesn’t have to think he is brilliant.

The problem Theo has is when he has time and space and there are too many options available. That’s not necessary and criticism of him, and the part I did take exception to in Hansen’s analysis was that Walcott doesn’t have the ability or potential to progress. I personally believe that he does have the capability to improve in that area, and with Arsene Wenger (and his track record) guiding him the only way is up as far as I’m concerned.

The only frustrating thing about Theo’s performance for me was that I didn’t buy him for my Fantasy Football team!

And the latest news on the transfer front is that Sevilla’s Sebastien Squillaci is undergoing a medical at Arsenal.

I don’t know much about him, but apparently he’s rated at £6.5 million and he’s 30 years old, which on the face of it seems strange, considering Arsene’s policy on players over 30.

But then again, we did have William Gallas (33), Mikel Silvestre (33) and Sol Campbell (35) on the books last season so maybe that policy is changing slightly these days. Maybe Arsenal wants to integrate experience with the youth. £6.5 million does seem a lot for a 30 year old (I sound like Arsene now don’t I?) but Wenger’s track record in bringing in defenders has been good in recent seasons so hopefully he is the signing we’ve been waiting for on that front.

We just need a decent goalkeeper now…

It looks like Sol Campbell is moving to Newcastle United, which isn’t really that surprising. Arsenal can’t really offer Sol guaranteed football every week and at Newcastle he’ll probably be a regular. It would be interesting to know what wages Newcastle are paying him though, considering they are reportedly tightening their belts and Sol notoriously seeks the higher pay-packet.

And that brings us to Laurent Koscielny. After spending somewhere in the region of £10 million for his services, it’s clear that Arsene’s 3 main central defenders will be Djourou, Vermaelen and Koscielny.

There’s been a lot of speculation from Arsenal blogs about whether the young Frenchman is good enough but Arsene and his back room staff are starting to get a reputation for unearthing top quality defenders from relative obscurity. We had Bacary Sagna in 2007, Vermaelen in 2009 and we now have Laurent Koscielny. People cite playing in Ligue 2 a couple of seasons ago as a reason why he isn’t good enough, but the guy is only 24 years old. Andrei Arshavin didn’t exactly light the world on fire in his earlier years but look at how good he is now.

And I suppose I have to talk about our captain, Cesc Fabregas.

In my younger days I would happily speculate about transfer rumours and stories but these days I’m not bothered until something actually happens. Anyone can say a deal has been done or that he’ll move next year but it’s all hearsay. I’ve read in some places that Arsenal and Barcelona have “agreed” that Cesc will stay one more year and will move to Barcelona next year. Well that story is pretty convenient isn’t it? He might well move next season but that doesn’t mean a deal has been struck now.

If I’m honest, I guess I just don’t care about the situation anymore. People ask me about Cesc leaving and I tell them I’m not bothered. It’s been dragged out so long I couldn’t care less about whether he stays or goes. Arsenal have clearly said that they don’t want to sell, and it’s obvious Barcelona won’t stump up the cash, so no amount of b*llocks from Barcelona coaches, staff or players about Cesc’s DNA will change the fact he won’t be leaving unless we’re offered at least £50 million.

If Cesc stays, then great. If he leaves, then good luck to him. He’s always given 110% when he’s worn an Arsenal shirt and has never disrespected the club like plonkers such as Hleb or Adebayor. The club always comes first and is far bigger than any player, and we’ve learnt that over the years. Players like Vieira, Henry and Bergkamp have left the ranks over the years but we’ve always coped and pretty well by all accounts. As many have already pointed out, Wilshire and Ramsey are promising youngsters who already look top drawer and could step into Cesc’s shoes.

I will remember the comments he made before the World Cup, when he talked about a discussion he had with Arsene Wenger:

“It was probably the greatest conversation I have had with someone in my life.”

I would love to know why that was the case.

Finally we come to the goalkeeper situation. We’ve been heavily linked with Mark Schwarzer, which has surprised me really, because while I’ve always believed he was a decent goalkeeper, I doubt whether he’s good enough for Arsenal. I realise the ridiculousness of that statement when we’ve got goalkeepers such as Manual Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski on our books but Mark Schwarzer?

But it is an area that we seriously needs addressing. For the last 3/4 seasons, we’ve had a major handicap of having a poor goalkeeper. Last season, we were close to pulling off a remarkable sequence of wins towards the end of the campaign which would have given us a fighting chance of winning the title only for it to be completely ruined by Almunia’s comedy moment against Birmingham City at St Andrews. I know Almunia has made some mistakes in his time but I struggle to find one as ridiculous as that.

I just wish Arsene would spend £10/12 million on a top quality goalkeeper – because if you got 5/6 good seasons from him then it would be an excellent investment. Goalkeepers generally stay at a top club for a good number of seasons (Van Der Sar, Cech, Reina, etc.) so I don’t see why Arsene is so reluctant to splash out on a keeper.

Well after all the rumours, it has officially been announced that Eduardo da Silva has been sold to Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of around £6 million.

And what a truly sad end to his Arsenal career that is.

I am actually really upset. As many people have already mentioned, he was a humble person and didn’t deserve what happened to him. He struggled when he first arrived but by October of 2007 he had arrived.

This guy was the real deal.

I’ve never seen a guy who could finish with the coolness this guy did. I loved how this guy scored goals – it was if time stood still and he had all the time in the world. Once he was one-on-one with the goalkeeper, there was only one outcome.

His finishing was immense. The two goals he scored against Everton were things of beauty. Watch them again, they were stunningly good goals. Then there was the other brace against Blackburn in the Carling Cup – extremely cool finishes. And of course, there was his awesome goal against Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium, when he chested the ball down in the 6 yard box and lashed in a scissor kick.

I’m not exaggerating here, at that point he was the best finisher in the Premier League.

Look back on old match commentaries from the goals he scored – no-one had nothing but superlatives for him.

But then of course, there was that faithful night at St Andrews on Saturday February 23rd, 2008.

I will never forgive Martin Taylor for what he did, and I am still outraged as I was 2 years ago. Arsene Wenger said Taylor shouldn’t play football again and I agree. What a disgrace.

I was disgusted from the media for their comments, and even more furious at Taylor for his extremely reckless “tackle”. Quite frankly I can’t post online what I’d like to happen to this “footballer”.

And I suppose this just brings back all those horrible memories; the sense of grave injustice, the shocking injury to Eduardo and ultimately the end of his potentially great Arsenal career.

Because even after his brave and courageous recovery, he was never the same again.

He showed glimpses now and then on his return, scoring a brace against Cardiff City in the FA Cup, and that stunning volley he scored against Burnley at The Emirates.

But struggles with other injuries limited his playing time and disrupted his comeback, and Arsene Wenger’s new formation of 4-3-3 meant that the team no longer really could accommodate his style of play. And of course, the intensity and physicality of the Premier League is something that Eduardo has struggled to come to terms with, and who can blame him after everything he has been through?

So it is a sad end to Eduardo’s career at Arsenal, and I haven’t been so upset to see a player leave for a long, long time.

This gifted individual had taken us Arsenal fans through a real roller-coaster ride over the last 3 years, and I wish “Dudu” nothing but the best of luck at his new club. I can’t remember and Arsenal story as emotional as his, and I truly hope that he can re-ignite his career and do what he does best – scoring goals on a regular basis.

Well Arsenal have officially confirmed that Sol Campbell will be playing for Arsenal Reserves tonight, and talks are ongoing over a permanent move back to the club he left in 2006.

And on the same day, it appears Senderos will be leaving after he publicly declared that he wants to move on, with the World Cup around the corner.

Well it’s a strange one. Wenger notoriously never returns to players that have left the club and for a 35-year old as well is even more mind-boggling.

Wenger said:

“He has a fantastic attitude and good fitness.

“Of course he is not the youngest, but he is in a very good shape. He can still play in the Premier League, I’ve said that many times.

“He is important in the dressing room as well. He’s positive with the young players.

“Every year we have one or two like that and I think a Premier League club will sign him.”

We needed cover at the back, so to let a 24-year old Senderos leave is strange. Surely he’s a better option than Silvestre and Campbell – has he really become that much of a poor player since 2006? Remember Senderos is the guy Wenger was considering for Arsenal captain before Thierry Henry was elected!

Why is Senderos so out of favour?

Strange news to say the least.

Especially as Patrick Vieira was available – we need some presence in midfield without Fabregas and Song!