Morning folks and I hope you are waking up to a good one. It’s another sunny day for us Brits in a summer in which we have a lot to be thankful for, not least the fact that we’ve also got a squad heading out to Singapore that look happy, energised, with plenty of depth. There’s a general feel good factor about Arsenal at the moment and the talks about Andre Gomes joining on a possible loan move are at least showing that if the club has to make a decision on Ramsey, they have a back up plan, which at least is something.

I like that we’re prepared to be steadfast in our approaches for players like that and not being tied down with a player who has fallen out of favour. Ramsey out and Gomes in would be a downgrade but if the Welshman won’t sign a new deal then it is essential that we look to move him on quickly and find a replacement of some kind. But that doesn’t mean we have to act desperate and so the negotiations for Gomes being as they are, I feel comforted that Arsenal appear to be the club in control of the situation, which is a stark contrast to how it’s felt in seasons past. Being given the runaround by Joel Campbell all summer was hardly a situation that filled most Arsenal fans with comfort that the club had control of situations.

The other news that appears to have been circulating the gutter press in the last few days is the possible exit of Gazidis to AC Milan. The club haven’t come out and commented on the rumours but I don’t think that means they’re true. It could just mean that the club put so little credence in them that they are ignoring them. But it does make you wonder why Gazidis would wait all these year’s to step out of the shadow of Wenger, only to move on. The only explanation I can think of is that he might want to bow out before anything goes Pete Tong at Arsenal but given he’s just spent ten year’s at the club, he will have developed a deep affection for it, and I don’t think he’ll suddenly want to leave them as the rebuilding process has hit its zenith. Plus, if Arsenal do indeed start well and go on to have a good season, he’ll be credited with the overhaul and his stock will be very high. So if after this season we find that Arsenal are back int he Champions League, have won a trophy, are going in the right direction, then I could see him taking a look at his situation and thinking that he could bow out with his stock pretty high.

So I doubt much will come of the Gazidis situation. Not yet, anyway.

But for now all eyes are on the trip to Singapore to see the Asian fans and I’m sure it will be another good tour for The Arsenal. These tours always demonstrate that from an organisation point of view we’re seen as one of world’s best and it always helps ‘brand Arsenal’, so I’m expecting to see plenty of positive videos from the club’s corporate video feed in the coming days, leading up to the game on Thursday. The squad was announced yesterday and there aren’t many surprises, other than the fact Jeff Reine-Adelaide isn’t in the squad, because he’d bagged a few goals in pre season games so far and by all accounts was looking good. Perhaps I’m reading too much in to it, but maybe another loan or a permanent move is on the cards for the youngster? I can’t see why you wouldn’t take him to Singapore otherwise. We know that Chuba’s time is up and Jenkinson was never going to make the squad because he’ll be out of the door soon, but I would have thought that Jeff would have been in with a shout. I guess we’ll see what happens in the txt week or so. If he’s going to be moved out on loan or for a permanent deal it will probably happen next week as the club shape the squad for the coming season. But also there would be a need for the buying club to want him in before the season starts and to get to know his new teammates. It just doesn’t look like it’s going to happen for him at the moment though and it feels to me like his Arsenal career is just getting away from him a bit. Hopefully I can be proved wrong but it looks like he’s going the way of Chuba and Campbell.

Anyway, that’s yer lot from me today, so I’ll catch you tomorrow morn.

Laters.