The Sun is reporting that Salomon Kalou could be Arsene Wenger's next signing. The Blues have been offered £6m for the Ivoirian winger although they are holding out for £8m. Kalou has been been offered a generous increase in his weekly wages, actually double, to £60,000 and a five-year contract.

The head, his arse, and now the chin. We wait with bated breath for William Gallas to use his codpiece for the next goal.

Eduardo's dive might have been despicable but here is a video of Steven Gerrard elevating it to an art form. Its the complete package. No one talks of the Liverpool talisman because it provides a different narrative from foreign footballers ruining the English league with their cheating ways.

Listen to Emmanuel Petit, David Dein and Lee Dixon during a special programme, Arsene at 60, on BBC Radio 5 live at 2000 BST on Thursday.

I wonder what Dein will have to say. He has had a complex relationship with Wenger, being responsible for his arrival but his business dealings clashed with Wenger's philosophy of developing low budget talent.

Dear Arsene,

Praise is good but it should be meaningful. Robin Van Persie is having a fantastic season but to say he is the best striker in the Premiership is jumping the gun. Didier Drogba will have some words on that. Comparing Van Persie to Dennis Bergkamp is definitely jumping the shark.

What is anti-football?

Paul Dirac's thesis that there exists anti-matter, i.e., the opposite of normal matter, was proven right by the discovery of a number of anti-particles. Positrons, anti-protons, and even anti-atoms have been discovered. When matter and anti-matter collide they produce explosions of pure energy and both particles are completely destroyed.

UEFA's disciplinary panel is deliberating on whether Eduardo was guilty of deception. Its a much broader charge as the statement below suggests.

"Acting with the obvious intent to cause any match official to make an incorrect decision."

Arsenal is countering with a 19 page document which calls UEFA's investigations as a contravention to its own rules of not allowing "field of play" to be second guessed.

Wenger on Walcott following the Ridgewell tackle.

"He has a bruised knee, it is swollen and difficult to assess at the moment. Is it a medial knee ligament that is twisted or just a kick? The fact that he says he felt a little unstable when he was running is not good news. We don't know yet how much of his pain is down to the kick and how much is down to the fact he twisted his ligament.

For life.

Wenger said: "I'd never want to go anywhere else. Touch wood, as long as I have my health, I would want to work as long as I live but adapted to my potential."

I have to tip my hat to the man. He is committed. He is focused. He breathes the club and the game. You simply cannot ask more from a manager.

Darren Fletcher in particular. He was the hatchet man in Utd's win over Arsenal on August 29th and did quite a number on Cesc Fabregas.

Well, after the match Arsene Wenger talked at length about the anti-football display. He did not mention Fletcher's name but everyone can read between the lines.

Two different gestures, two similar outcomes.

Last week, it was Thierry Henry showing his hand to send Ireland plunging out of the World Cup and sending millions into a meltdown. FIFA is now considering a World Cup ban for his "unsporting conduct."

Today it was Arsene Wenger not showing his hand that had Mark Hughes frothing in the mouth.

Wenger swells his transfer kitty to about £50 million with Phillipe Senderos on his way to Everton. The big Swiss defender will go for a reported £6 m.

Everton is preparing for Joleon Lescott to head to City after they rejected a bid of £18m. The defender is reportedly preparing to hand in a transfer request which will make it harder for Everton to stop the eventual sale.

Barclays Premier League
Venue: Emirates Stadium Date: Saturday 22 August Kick-off: 1500 BST

Head-to-head

• Arsenal are unbeaten in the last 19 league and cup matches against Portsmouth (W11, D8).

• Portsmouth last beat Arsenal in March 1958, a 5-4 home win in the old First Division.

Don't get me wrong. I am very happy that Abou Diaby and William Gallas are on the leader board as far as scoring goals is concerned. As long as Arsenal wins, it does not make an ounce of difference who scores the goals. But here we are three games into the season with three wins and 12 goals scored.

A bit grainy in quality.

But there is no mistaking Eduardo's delectable change of speed and pinpoint cross which finds the arriving Diaby for a nice summation. A second even simpler Diaby goal follows before Pompey answers through Younes Kaboul. I see a problem. Almunia reacts too late and then is not physical enough to challenge Kaboul, who literally flies over him to head the ball down.

Graham Poll on diving.

"It was on the eve of the start to the Barclays Premier League season, when Sir Alex Ferguson spoke with authority and insight. 'Players who cheat are killing the game, not the referees,' observed the manager of the champions."

Straight of the bat, Poll reveals his bias.

"I come in peace, to give penance for winning three titles that should be rightfully yours"

Outrage at Arsene Wenger's treatment at the hands of Man Utd fans during Arsenal's visit to Old Trafford seems to have percolated up from Gunner blogs and online forums and entered the mainstream.

Above is the photographic evidence of Adebayor's malice. As if there was any more reason needed why he is not missed at Arsenal. Also, to make sure, he left because he was getting more money, so to slag Arsenal fans for his move is pure projection. But that was not the extent of Ade's imprint as he went after Cesc in the first half.

All the *wtf* moments belong to us:

First Diaby with his head scratching header that led to an own goal against Man Utd. The difference between a draw and a defeat. Then Almunia's bounce of the head from a bounce of the goalpost into the goal which gave City the lead and dampened a bright Arsenal start.

Arsene Wenger feels that 80 points will be enough to win the title as bigger teams drop points to the harder pushing smaller teams and Man City, the new billionaires on the block.

His calculations put Chelsea 65 points short with 33 games yet to be played and there is no reason why the Blues can't maintain their fast start.

"I say, Arsene, I've got to get this guy off my back. Any ideas on how to beat him? I am on the ropes. How he carries on against fat people. Look at Alan. Mierda! It's not fair."

Alan Wiley's new "slimming" photo-angle

Sir Alex has admitted to improper conduct regarding Alan Wiley.

Alan Leighton of the referees union, Prospect warned that Sir Alex's remarks could set the tone for more abuse.

"Some people suggest it is us picking on Sir Alex.

Wenger responds to Adebayor's insinuations and rumour mongering by dismissing them.

Good on Sir Alex if this indeed works.

Gibbs limped off with an ankle injury after a 12st minute tackle forced him out of the U21 Euro match against Lithuania. He is to undergo an X ray as a precautionary measure and more information on the extent of his injury will be available later this week.

With Gael Clichy out for a month with a back injury, the left back position was a lock for Gibbs.

Wenger introduces his club vs country interjection in this World Cup season.

For those dreaming of saving themselves for the world's biggest stage, forget it, the club comes first. They are the one who pay the salaries and like every other employer, they demand performance. Fair enough.

Wenger mentions Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit as examples of players who managed to combine a successful club season with World Cup glory.

Apparently William Gallas has problems putting his contact lens on because the left eye is still so swollen from the collision with Arshavin's head in the Standard Liege game.

Wenger was not overly optimistic about his chances. "I cannot say that William Gallas will play, unfortunately. The ankle should be alright but the eye is still very, very, very swollen.

Seeing Vieira play against Chelsea recently in a match saw a player past his prime. In a preview of what a return would look like, he got decked trying to stop John Obi Mikel. His renowned physical prowess has been undercut by age, few appearances, and frequent injuries since his move to Inter.

Thomas Vermaelen is back but the injury news regarding other players is not too good. Wenger will be without Samir Nasri for 6-7 weeks and Tomas Rosicky for another 2-3 weeks. He is also without Theo Walcott (back spasms). Abou Diaby also looks doubtful.

So the midfield looks ready to bring on Denilson.

I think Wenger has it right. As one of the most astute men in the business, his contention that the the European Super League will materialize needs to be taken seriously. At this point does anyone not want to see a regular Barcelona vs Chelsea match the results which are not dictated to by a one off encounter and/ or spoiled by refereeing decisions.

Stuart Pearce's decision to play Theo Walcott in the Euro U-21 has come in for criticism from Arsene Wenger as the Arsenal midfielder continues to be sidelined by a back strain. He has been ruled out for the big match on August 29th against Man Utd as well as England's World Cup qualifier against Croatia on September 9th.

If we can take anything from this match, it is this: Man Utd will have to rely on such huge slices of luck if they want to win the Premiership.

For Arsenal, even the best laid plans can go awry. As shown admirably by Abou Diaby.

Discipline has never been a friend of the young no matter how talented.

Gerhard Kapl(at right): A fire and brimstone kind of chief

Time to dust off those videos and mete out retrospective punishment to those who deceive referees.

What, its not going to happen?

Only Eduardo gets to be the poster boy. Eighteen months ago he was the poster boy for tackles gone horribly wrong.

Hit with violent conduct has a nice "violent" feel to it, doesn't it? Kind of an eye for an eye.

Anyways, this is the first part of the FA investigation and the most appropriate one in my mind. Its an open and shut case. The other is the instigation of the Gunner fans with his over the top celebration.

Lovely bit of footwork by Van Persie in the box and a snappy finish after Song feeds him of a sloppy clearance by Birmingham. Eboue stretches Birmingham wide before dishing to Rosicky who centers the ball which evades everyone before Diaby arrives to notch up the Gunners second goal.

But Arsenal would not be Arsenal if it did not believe in shooting themselves in the foot.

A video tribute to the Arsenal manager. And some life lessons well learned.

And luckily for all of us, he wants to keep continuing to coach.

"No, it is not me to stop," he said speaking before the weekend game. "If one day I do not do that anymore then I do not see why I should only have the problems!

It was his birthday and the AGM was conducted in a very different atmosphere from the last meeting. So of course, in the warm bask of accolades and affection, one tends to become magnanimous.

But I saw the AZ Alkmaar match and if we are to win a major trophy, we need to do much much better.

Talk of a bunch of self entitled players. This team will not get a "major trophy", or even a self titled piddling little one. For the second match in a row, Arsenal decided to "wing" it.

Wenger's memos of bravado do not seem to be filtering down to the players. At the very least, one would expect some positive response to such a bold and unequivocal statement.

Arseblog as usual gives an well balanced summation and my two cents is that the "killer instinct" message should be obvious by now. It cannot be emphasized enough but now it needs to be internalized. I also think it comes from a leadership vacuum on the pitch.

This season, most matches need at least two goals for padding.

Against Spurs.

Lukasz Fabianski has re-injured himself and is out for three weeks. Vito Mannone looked far from reassuring against West Ham, and his mistake gifted a goal to Carlton Cole in a match that Arsenal should have won.

Which means Almunia might be back in favour.