Apologies for the large gap between articles, an extended moving weekend meant that not only did I have no time to do anything else, but I also know just how removal companies earn their money. We didn't use one.

It's been nearly a week since my last post, and to be honest, not an awful lot has happened in that time. I've seen the highlights of the Barnet win, but I can't read much into it, as a) Youtube can make even Julio Baptista look good, and b) pre-season friendlies are quite unreliable anyway - after all, I remember Hleb scoring within a few minutes of his debut in one this time last year, and he hardly turned out to be prolific in front of goal.

That said, tonight's game against a Turkish side I have no chance of pronouncing correctly may give us the first sightings of da Silva and Sagna on the pitch, and perhaps some indication of where exactly Sagna especially will slot in.

In other news, Cesc has been talking about his hopes of being an Arsenal captain in the future. If I'm honest, I think this is just the PR machine in operation - after the flak he took earlier in the summer for allegedly courting a return to Spain (which he will do sometime in the future), words that define his loyalty simply aim to reverse that problem.

He talked recently about Arsenal being 'his club', and now about how he'd love to be the captain, and I think a lot of this is making a point to the press that he's going nowhere - a none too subtle hint for them to cut out the rumours they like to spread. It's working too, because now these words are the flavour of the month. Who said journalists were fickle?

As for the captaincy issue, I'd be surprised if he was at the club long enough to take the role on. Delighted, but surprised. However, with Gilberto missing the start of the season after having a rest, a stand-in is required. Toure strikes me as a much better candidate, but there we go.

And finally, we turn to potential signings. The universal belief is that we still need a winger, but the futures of Ljungberg and Reyes still need to be resolved, which both affect the quantity and quality of the player(s) signed. I vote for watching this space, as second guessing doesn't appear to work.

Just over three weeks to go. I can't wait - can you?