I thought it was just me going a little mad, what with all of this warmth and sun I’m getting on the Algarve, but it appears the world is going a little bonkers this morning too.

Let’s start with the news that Niklas Bendtner is on the verge of signing for Nottingham Forest. Eh??? The self proclaimed world’s greatest striker, a man known affectionately amongst the Arsenal collective as ‘Lord Bendtner’, is debasing his wonderful legacy by dropping down in to the Championship to play for Forest? Somebody call Neo, because there must be some sort of glitch in the Matrix, because that’s just crazy.

Could it be that he’s finally decided it’s better to actually try to prove ones self by actually scoring a hatful of goals, rather than by trading off of a minor reputation as an Arsenal squad player back in the day? That’s a novel idea. But I tell you what, if the conditions are right and he applies himself, it could be a good move for Forest and it might even be good for him too. I kind of fancy watching Foest now, just to see how he gets on. I’d be surprised if he opts for the number 52 though, because there’s no way Forest can afford to give him that.

Second bit of crazy news is Flamini to Palace. That in itself doesn’t sound as strange a move. But when you throw somebody like Pards in to the equation, it feels even more whacky. Pardew and Flamini together. Think of the madness. It’ll be one hell of a dressing room. Flamster sorting out his business deals, with Pardew asking if the Frenchman could spot him a couple of extra G’s for his gambling escapades. Allegedly, of course…

As we all saw last season, Flamini is a downgraded Coquelin, and even Coquelin isn’t really what is needed for this Arsenal team, so it’s hard not to hope for the best for the Flamster, but then you think of Pardew’s smiling, cheshire cat grin and you can’t want for anything other than failure for Palace. Do Palace need a sledgehammer to crack a nut in Flamini? Possibly. It could work out for them. But we’ve all seen that he probably doesn’t have the legs any more, so whether or not he’s a regular, or whether he has to contend with a similar role to what he did at Arsenal last season, I don’t know. Perhaps Pardew sees him as the iron first underneath the velvet glove that is Cabaye? Could be Palace’s version of Coqzorla I suppose. Can’t see it having too much success though…

Then finally, the papers are going big and hard on Eddie Howe to The Arsenal. Personally I just don’t see it. Howe seems a decent enough guy and he worked wonders in keeping Bournemouth in the Premier League, but is he really a big enough draw to keep the big names at Arsenal happy? Perhaps there’s an argument that we don’t need some of the bigger names at the club (Ozil and Alexis aside), but that aside, we’re still talking a big step up here, aren’t we? To go from a team who have only recently even sampled the big time, to one of the biggest clubs in the world? I just don’t see it. The conditions at Bournemouth seem to be right for Howe. Let’s not forget that he left Bournemouth to have a go at managing Burnley, but that didn’t work out one iota. Arsenal aren’t the type of club that can be experimenting. Arsene might take punts on certain players, but as a club we can’t be taking punts on what will be one of the most significant appointments, when Wenger does finally leave.

Again, I have no problem with Howe as a person and perhaps he will grow to be a great manager, but it feels like the sort of move which would be two steps too high for him. It felt like he’s the sort of guy who needs a Southampton, or West Brom, or Palace-style move and reaching dizzying heights with them over a number of years, before a job like Arsenal might come calling.

This feels very much like its from the Owen Coyle/Roberto Martinez school of thought. A guy who is doing well at the moment and is flavour of the month, being linked to The Arsenal. Won’t do his profile any harm at the moment, but I suspect there’ll be some underwhelmed WOBs who will have hoped for better. Me – I just worry about this season ahead for now. May is far too far away and I can’t be bothered to fret over situations that could swing one way or the other during the course of the season.

Who knows though. I have a feeling Arsene will sign a new deal if we get in to the top four again, so this might not be a discussion point for a few more years yet.

Anyway, we’re halfway through the week and there’s sure to be some team news tomorrow, so we can get back to talking about the game against Southampton at the weekend. Catch you in the morrow.