Well, that it.
We will have to make do with Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianski, Vito Manonne and Wojciech Szczesny to man the posts this season, or at least until the January transfer window opens. It will not be a period of supreme confident at the back for many Gooners, but then again it has been the case for us for the last few seasons anyway.
Despite signing two quality central defenders in Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci, it is the goalkeeper position that has many fans pulling their hair out whenever a result does not go our way. Almunia did not have the best of start to the season when he let David Ngog's shot beat him at the near post. Despite a confident performance at Ewood Park against a physical Blackburn Rovers side many were expecting to seeing Mark Schwarzer lining up against Bolton Wanderers on 11-09-2010.
But by the end of the transfer deadline at 6pm in the UK (around 1am in kT) there was no movement at all at the Emirates. The Aussie custodian had earlier confirmed he will be staying at Craven Cottage while Shay Given will be the Cup goalkeeper for Man City, perhaps becoming a victim of Bobby Mancini's fear of strengthening a rival if he let the Irishman go to a Premier League side.
So right now, we have to look forward with what we have at our disposal.
In attack we have a wealth of talents and firepower with Maruone Chamakh providing the aerial advantage we have been lacking despite having the tall Nicklas Bendtner in our ranks. Theo Walcott already has an explosive start to the season, finding the net four times and we hope he will find the sort of consistency that enable him to emulate the previous owner of the number 14 shirt in his possession right now.
The big Dane and Mexican Carlos Vela are entering the stage when they are expected to perform and do what they are expected to do, that is to score and create goals, lots and lots of them. Andrey Arshavin will be expected to provide the creativity that prompted Arsene Wenger to part with the sum of money he paid in bringing the Russian to the Emirates a while ago, provided he can find the consistency in the first place.
Then of course Robin van Persie. The Dutchman has been unlucky with injuries that always keep him out for a large chunk of Arsenal seasons, which keep us asking the 'what if' questions had he been fit all the time. The injury against Blackburn will see him out for at least a couple of weeks and for us it is hoped that will be the last for the season.
In midfield a fit and focused Cesc Fabregas will be crucial for Arsenal. Supporting him will be Samir Nasri and Tomas Rosicky with Abou Diaby, Manu Ebuoe and Denilson providing the depth between aggression and creativity. Joining them will be the prodigious Jack Wilshere who could be the one to step into Fabregas place when the Catalan finally make his move back home.
But crucially to the season is a fit as a fiddle Alex Song. He has performed so well in front of the back four last season that almost all Arsenal fans wish to see him in action week in week out in the current one. If not for his long term injury, Manu Frimpong could have been pushing for a place in the senior squad after an impressive pre-season but nowadays Arsenal and injuries seem to go hand in hand.
We could also be looking forward to November when Aaron Ramsey is scheduled to return from his terrible injury sustained at Stoke City last season.
The defence will be anchored by Thomas Vermaelen and the question many Gooners are asking who will be Arsene's choice to partner him. Koscielny performed well at Anfield but was exposed by El Hadji Diouf at Ewood Park that led to the Blackburn equaliser. Thus I for one think it will be Squillaci who will get the nod due to his reputation as a physical no nonsense defender.
There should not be too much worry on either flanks with Gael Clichy in a good competition with Kieran Gibbs on the left while Bacary Sagna still have the enigmatic Eboue as his cover in any untoward cases. That will leave old Johan Djourou to contemplate on his future but given Arsenal luck with injuries he might be in the thick of action soon.
Back to the goalkeeper position, personally now that I know the quartet is there to stay I would like to see Szczesny be given a chance to prove his capabilities and who knows we might have a Joe Hart clone in our midst. Fabianski should also have left for a loan spell as he badly needs a run in goal to regain his confidence back, with Wigan would be an ideal destination if not the Scottish League.
Of course Arsene was not helped by the fact everybody knew he was looking for a goalkeeper thus the prices quoted were exorbitant. But I am glad he stood his ground and refused to give in.
So right now I am hoping that either one of the quartet will perform well enough to get gain the trust of the defence in from of him and to ensure no more sleepless night for us Gooners.
...
However, for Gooners who manage to do that, then they receive half dozen of delights from the Emirates as the home side put six past Sporting Braga goalkeeper Felipe. In a match that could be dubbed as 'The Cesc Fabregas Show" the skipper found the net twice, starting the scoring in each half.
Andrey Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh also manage put their names on the score-sheet in the first half to give The Gunners a healthy 3-0 lead going into the break. Substitute Carlos Vela came on in the 63rd minute and duly found the net twice to put the gloss on the night when the Portuguese Arsenal learn what Champions League football is all about.
The naivety of the Braga side mean the central defensive pairing of Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci are not really troubled throughout the match. Despite the big win Arsenal fans must realise that sterner tests await when their team face FK Partizan in Belgrade later this month and the visit of Shakhtar Donetsk in October.
