For starters, I am not too sure whether I am happy about Arsenal signing Ramsey or I am not happy. There are some usual doubts which cause this. And that’s the exact reason why I am curious on what exactly Wenger did Wenger tell Ramsey, which made sure Ramsey chose us over the preferred choice of his current club, over the club where his hero plays. Here is an attempt at what could have been told. Was Ramsey told that he would be the first choice backup on the left wing for Rosicky? That would be a very appealing prospect for the 17 year old. Being the backup for second most brittle player in the Arsenal squad as of now almost guarantees you 25 games in a season. Another even more appealing option could be, Hleb is leaving for Barcelona, we were trying to get Nasri as replacement, however his agent seems to be stuck up, so we decided to sign you instead of him. Now that could be the most persuasive argument from Ramsey’s point of view. This second option is the one that makes me feel not so happy about us signing Ramsey. Wenger had suggested that we would be signing one creative player in the summer, hope that one player isn’t Ramsey; we definitely need more then that.

Another line that I missed out yesterday (and which could easily be an eye catching headline) is that “Song signs an extension contract to avoid repeat of the Flamini situation next year”. Song is the most able replacement for Flamini currently at the club in my eyes, and he could have possibly had a blinder of a season and left just like Flamini. Hence, that contract extension is a big relief.

Rest, yesterday I almost had the best possible day at this edition of the Euros. Due to the obvious link of French players at Arsenal, I always look forward to have a look at them at the International level. However, since Domenech has taken on as the French coach, that liking has turned into a very strong dislike. This could be due to the numerous spats between Domenech and Wenger, or due to him not picking Pires for the World Cup, or much more recently for not picking up our superb full backs for International duty (though that could be a good thing from the club’s point of view). At the start of the tournament I was hoping that the French go out in the first round itself. Hopefully if Italy can pick up from the shambles that they got themselves into, it might become a reality. With Henry and Viera injured and Nasri benched, I had almost no interest in watching the game. It turned out to be an absolute snooze fest. The two teams combined to have a grand total of one shot on target between them in the 90 minutes. Even when the game was 70 to 80 mins old, neither team showed any interest in pushing the tempo and try to grab a win. Both the teams seemed to be content with a draw and that’s exactly what they got.

The next match was arguably the best match I have seen for a really long time. It was a Dutch master class, and I would like to use the much used quote “The future’s bright the future’s orange”. I have been a fan of Dutch football from the day I started watching the game itself. I hope in every tournament that this would be the one, when they make it. My all time favorite goal is still Bergkamp’s goal against Argentina in the World Cup. However, this time around it was different. The Dutch had a defense that was probably comparable to Birmingham or Wigan (when Oijer & Boulharouz are starters then that’s the best you can compare with). They were up against the two World Cup finalists. I had no hope of them qualifying from the group itself. However, based on yesterday’s performance we are back on the band wagon of “We will win it this time”. All the Van’s (Vaart, Bronckhorst, Nistelrooy & Saar) were simply great. Though Ruud should have done better with the chances he got. The Dutch did get lucky with the first goal, but then again based on the overall performance they deserved every bit of the resounding victory they got. Before the start of the game we knew Robben and Van Persie wont play. Guess that was a blessing in disguise for the Dutch. Kuyt with his tireless running and worth ethic provides a defensive shield on the right which the other two cannot provide. He was instrumental in keeping Zambrotta quiet for the first half. I feel the Dutch should start with the same 11 in the next match even if van Persie and Robben are available.