Morning all.

Our transfer business continued a-pace yesterday as we provided another signing for another club. As expected Jay Emmanuel-Thomas joined Ipswich for around £1m. It's an unsurprising move considering his career trajectory and his age. If he'd stayed at Arsenal this year he would have had to be included in the 25 man squad and with Arsene Wenger clearly not considering him a player of that stature a move was the only realistic option.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, one of Arsenal's most promising youngsters, is no longer a Gunner after he accepted a move to Ipswich Town. The versatile Englishman, used as left back, left winger and centre-forward during his three years ...

So the team continue in Germany, working hard on fitness and probably doing lots of running. Is there anything worse than just running?

I always, always hated pre-season when I was playing proper league football. Doing laps of the pitch, or doing that running when you're in pairs and when the coach shouted '1′ it meant touch the ground with your right hand, '2′ with your left, '3′ up for a header, '4′ was 'back men to the front' and all that.

Once again Arsene put the same eleven players on the pitch. Well, almost. Gervinho did take the place of Young Miyaichi but the rest of the starting line-up was same as the bunch that impressed in the Asia tour.

Many of us were eager to see how Gervinho performs, and I for one wasn't disappointed.

One of Arsenal's promising youngsters is at the crossroads in his career at Arsenal. Former youth team captain Jay Emmanuel-Thomas will find out whether he will remain an Arsenal player or become yet another one of our youngsters to be sold to a Championship team.

Ipswich Town are reported to have offered Arsenal £1M for the utility dynamo.

Good morning from Dublin where the sky is grey and it is teeming down with rain. That really straight falling rain too, the one that makes you extra wet.

Miserable as it might be though, if you were playing football today it'd be a great day for the sliding tackle. There really is nothing like a good sliding tackle.