I remained quiet about Arsenal at the end of the season, amidst all of the speculation around Henry's departure, because it was pretty clear a major shakedown would occur and that we wouldn't know what was happening until much later in the game if ever. Now Henry is gone to Barca and the shakedown is still shaking down. Vice-Chairman David Dein was sacked, reportedly as a result of his support of the American take-over bid from U.S. billionaire Stanley Kroenke. The move unsettled The Boss (Wenger), as Dein was his creative partner in the horse trading business that has made the New Arsenal so successful. And apparently Wenger's unease about the future, his contract up after next year, made Henry eager to jump ship. The bottom line is we'll never really know what happened this spring, such is the secretive nature of football management, so as fans we look forward to how the year shapes up...

 

There are a few things we know for sure. Arsenal sewed up the future of its most successful undecided youngsters in smart fashion by keeping Adebayor and Eboue long term. Fabregas is around one more year, no matter how much talk there is about him following Henry to Barca. Henry is gone, leaving a gaping hole at the front end of our formation. But with his transfer comes a new, and substantial, pot of gold. Wenger likes to have money before he spends. And now he has it.

We need to replace Henry. We need a true central defender to work alongside Toure. We need to attack more successfully down the wings. Walcott and Hleb could do the job but they need to produce more goals and better crosses. Aliadiere won't work out there. Ljungberg is past prime.

There a few things we are unsure about that are unsettling. We don't know, yet, how Dein-gate will play out. We don't know if Wenger is showing displeasure to get a bigger piece of stick going into his next year's negotiations or if he's really pissed off and might leave. We don't know what will happen to Fabregas at the end of next year.

I cannot imagine the club letting Wenger go without offering him the world. Arsenal has, piece by piece, traded its identity as a North London football club since the Boss arrived, and now his brand of play, his economic model of horse trading, and the success he brought comprise the identity of the New Arsenal. We are Arsene-al, and much as that fact may be unsettling for long-time supporters, the new international Gooners like me wouldn't know what to do if the club hired, say, Stuart Pearce.

I don't think Wenger is leaving. He's built a brand, an apparatus, and an organization. He is pissed off about losing Dein and he wants to elevate himself in the structure of the club-if that's possible-in advance of the takeover, so he's howling away and crying foul. The club will give him a new handpicked partner or they will give him Dein back, and the Boss will use his new pile of money to shore up the holes in the side.

Gunners Rejoice! Because today the news reports are telling us that negotiations are in place to sign Eduardo da Silva , a Brazilian-born Croatian international, who happens to score a goal every time he steps onto the field for Dinamo Zagreb or his country.

The signing is cause for double happiness. First of all, Da Silva is exactly what we need: a cold-blooded finisher who steals and seals games with his ability to stick balls into the back of the net. His scoring record is absurd, both at the club and national levels and he sounds like the type of guy you can stick up top with either Adebayor or Van Persie. Adebayor can rip big channels in defense with his running and should open up a lot of space for Da Silva. Da Silva will show Adebayor what it feels like to score more often that not, and the Togolese could use a thriftier and more blood-thirsty attitude towards turning chances into goals.

With V. Persie, Da Silva can form a two-pronged inside channel attack that leaves the wings open for Walcott and Hleb to carve up and cross. Thus we can assume two primary shapes, depending on the nature and composition of our opponents.

The second part of the double happiness is that it is a classic Wenger signing, which means he hasn't given up the con quite yet. Arsenal got a massive fee for Henry, who was, you remember, hurt last year, and signed a much younger player that fits better and leaves more room to grow for its other attackers.

I said at the end of the year that I would not be surprised if Henry, Lehmann, and Ljungberg were all gone. Well Lehmann signed a one-year and will compete for his spot. Henry is gone. And Ljungberg stays, presumably the Boss believes he can regain form that never showed up last year.

My point at the time was that it would not be a bad thing to get rid of the remnants of The Invincibles and let the young talent assume the mantel of responsibility, something for all of its quality, it has not yet done.

People like to talk about how young the Gunners are, as if they will all stay together in perpetuity. The reality is that the Wenger model is designed to develop young players into winners and then to sell them at a huge profit.

Fabregas may not be around much longer. The only way he will stay is if we start winning everything and he becomes a hero.

I cannot know what is happening behind the scenes at the club. If Wenger really is thinking about leaving, then we are in for a black future. But if he's not, and the Da Silva signing goes through, then we are one signing away from a team whose chances of winning the league are very good. And that is right where we want to me at the beginning of July.