The Wednesday lull before Arsenal content kicks in again ahead of Sunday’s game against Newcastle…

**tumbleweed rolls by**

There ent a lot going on right now. I mean, when the noises of a ‘battle between Arsenal and Spurs’ are being reported in relation to who’s going to host the next Anthony Joshua fight takes place, you just know it’s pretty slow right now, that’s for sure. If it’s down to anything other than money (which it isn’t) then it’d be Arsenal for sure. Joshua is a bit of a fair weather Arsenal fan, but a gooner he is nonetheless, so it would stand to reason that would be a preference. But he’ll leave that to Hearn and whoever can bring in the biggest pay check will most likely win it.

And this is why I’m yearning for the return to football, because even the most tenuous link, has me writing at least a paragraph.

There is some talk of the Flamengo boss saying Pablo Mari is ready to step up to the first team for Arsenal, but what else is he supposed to say?

**shrug shoulders emoji**

He’s hardly going to go on to the press and deliver a “nah, will never make it, Arsenal will bin him come June because the English top flight is miles better than the league I’m currently managing in” so the puff piece from the Portuguese is exactly that.

There’s some talk of Ligue 2 player Pape Gueye and I know my ol’ mate Giles was talking about him yesterday having said he’d be worth a punt last year. That’s the sort of move that would make sense, given where we are right now. Unearthing those players with the kind of age profile that arriving at the club means they won’t walk straight into the first team but, if they deliver the goods like some of the young players we’ve had step up this season, then there’s a chance they could find themselves playing for a big club. Albeit a fallen giant as we seem at the moment.

It’s the types of moves I thought we’d be doing when Mislintat was at the club, but instead Raul shifted him on as part of his ascension to power and he convinced those in the ivory tower in LA that we needed to ply them agent game’ which is where we find ourselves now. But if there can be a more blended approach to our player acquisition then I’m all for it. Guendouzi, Torreira, Martinelli; all of these players have the type of profile we want and if one of the big Spanish teams comes calling and wants to fork out megabucks then we deal with it. It’s a lot less risky than punts on the likes of Mkhitaryan for example. We need to be getting to players before they become superstars so that the worst case scenario is that we make a load of cash from their sale and can reinvest. Like Dortmund seem to do with their strikers.

It’s fair to say that from a footballing perspective on the pitch that has only worked in patches but we still have the sharp end of the season to be saved, so before a few of us start to file down the end of our pitchforks for the footballing powers above Arteta, I guess we have to see how this season plays out.

And that’s the beauty of football I suppose. There is always hope. Even after the shocker of a season we’ve had. Even after the terrible football and plethora of draws we’ve had from August to mid February. All of this could end in glory. I think the probabilities are stacked against us given all of the teams still in competition ahead of us, but still we find ourselves ‘in it to win it’ and that means that still we have hope.

Of course that could quickly all dissipate with just the wave of Steve Bruce’s wand on Sunday so let’s just hope that we don’t get another kick in the teeth at home. We’ve won just four of the 12 games we’ve played at home in the league and so it’s hardly an endorsement for a spanking, but with players refreshed from the winter break, plus a fuller and fitter squad returning, this is a weekend we need to look at as one that starts our momentum for the final push of the season.

A short one from me today. Back tomorrow with hopefully some more detailed musings, depending on what news trickles out today, if any at all.

Catch you then.