Arsenal Dominate The Headlines

After a quiet weekend, things seem to have perked up with news that Freddie Ljungberg has completed a 3 million pound move to West Ham. A very good move for West Ham, he hasn't been the force that he used to be in the past couple of seasons but he has a lot of experience to offer and can still come up with the big goals in the big games. He's lost some pace but he's still got the footballing brain and knows how to time his runs to cause the maximum damage to opposotion defences.

He will be a loss to Arsenal but his move away has been coming for some time, the arrival of Sagna suggested that Wenger was looking for more cover on the wings by pushing Sagna up the right flank with Eboue covering behind, or the same with the roles swapped. It will also be interesting to see whether Wenger gives Theo Walcott more game-time this season, he could also slot in on the flank and has looked pretty good in pre-season. Arsenal still need another winger to bolster their squad, preferably someone with Champions League experience as their squad is looking very raw at the moment.

Arsenal's biggest shareholder Danny Fiszman has also stated that he will not sell his shares in the club. He owns 24.11% of the club, and his public statement is an obvious signal to Kroenke and Ecclestone, who have both been linked with takeovers of Arsenal. By stating that he will not sell his shares, he has made it a lot harder for any takeover to succeed, but not impossible. I think that Kroenke will bide his time for a season before deciding on whether to buy the club, but we shall see.

Elsewhere, Sunderland have opened talks with Leighton Baines over a possible move to the Black Cats from Wigan. It seems like their persistance has paid off, but I'm not so sure what decision Leighton will make. He is a fantastic left-back, and should emerge this season as a contender for the English jersey with Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge, but does he go or does he stay? Wigan have just lost their manager, but have regained their Premiership status after a tricky second season, and have made some good signings. Sunderland have Roy Keane as manager, who has made a great start, but their squad is looking thin and they have made some iffy signings so far. Looking at both teams, I would say that Wigan have the better squad, but Sunderland have the better manager. I think that Baines should move to Sunderland, they may struggle this season, but if they can stay up then their long-term prospects under Quinn and Keane look better then the prospects of Wigan. It is difficult choice though, any thoughts?

Apparently Milan have been priced out of a move for Shevchenko but what did they expect? Chelsea spent a lot of money on him and want to see some return, plus I'm not sure that he would even want to move back. He feels the need to prove himself at Chelsea, and his lady obviously wanted the London lifestyle, so there's no way he'll be heading back to Milan this season. Watch out for him this season, I have a feeling that he will have play a key part in Chelsea's title run. Unlike last season, where all the defensive attention was on him (which allowed Drogba to shine), this time all the attention will have switched to Drogba, which will let Sheva make more of an impact. He's settled in London, he has learnt the style of play in the Premiership, and remember...Form is temporary, Class is permanent.

That's that for today, a good lot of footy news to keep you addicts going. I will be back tomorrow to give you your next fix.