Sylvain Wiltord, assisted by Patrick Vieira, and Thierry Henry were both on the scoresheet to ensure France’s victory over lowly Cyprus.

France, however, were not entirely convincing. It’s difficult to see how they’ve gone so far backwards since 2000. They have had such talented players, and in 2002 and 2004 they never came close to fulfilling their potential.

Now the spine of that side is gone. Desailly, Blance, Lebouef, Thuram, Makalele, and Zidane are all gone. he inexperienced Monaco pair of Givet and Squillacci have been drafted in at centre-back. Robert Pires is out of form and out of favour, and there was even talk that Thierry Henry might have been dropped tonight in favour of the livewire Sidney Govou.

It looks like their era of dominance over European football is definitely over. For now, at least. Though I’m sure that when Cygan, Clichy, and Aliadiere earn their call ups they’ll once again reign supreme. Ish.

Oh, and also, Ashley Cole put in a lovely cross for England’s winner in what was generally a pretty rubbish match last night.

That is all.

“Jens Lehmann has been threatened with the sack by Germany for wearing the wrong gloves.“

That’s a truly phenomenal story.

Jens and the German FA have always a bit of a love-hate relationship, but I think this takes the biscuit. The sad thing is that Jens will never replace Oliver Kahn, much as Klinnsman is trying to make it a fair fight between the two. It just won’t happen.

Youngster Ryan Smith made his comeback last night. Did well, according to Neil Banfield, who (following on from the clothing based theme of today’s piece), said he “worked his socks off“.

There are no other clothing-based Arsenal stories, I’m afraid.

So, um, that’s it.

…which isn’t hugely surprising.

As Ronny himself says, “He is a great footballer.”

I think we might well see Edu leave this summer. His committments to Brazil are becoming a real difficulty – whereas before he was replacing Gilberto when he went off on his round-the-world jaunts, we are now losing the pair.

He has also failed to re-establish himself in the first team. At the end of last season, he and Gilberto were neck-and-neck in the battle to partner Paddy. Edu even pushed Gilberto onto the bench for a significant spell of big games. However, this season, his belated arrival means that Gilberto has firmly re-established himself as a key part of the side. Edu has also fallen behind another midfielder who has burst onto the scene with stunning success.

Cesc Fabregas. On July 31st I said, “If you want me to compare him to someone, I’d suggest a combination of Edu and Deco“. His similarities with our girly-haired Brazilian are obvious: gutsy tackling, outstanding passing, and a habit of arriving in the box at the right time. The main difference is that Cesc has time on his side. He is going to improve. Good though Edu is, Cesc has the potential to be even better. And what’s more, Arsene will certainly find it easier to keep the young Spaniard happy on the bench than he will Edu.

So if Edu leaves this Christmas, or even this Summer, don’t be too surprised.

He deserves first team football on a consistent basis. He’s a very very good player. And we love him lots.

Unless he goes to Man U.

More rubbish internationals this week. But apparently, Ashley Cole is really good.

Quick on the draw, Sven is.

Watch out world, Arsene wants a right-back.

I know it only says “defender“ in the article, but we all know he means right-back. He went for Trabelsi, Angulo, and others, and just about came up short.

Personally, I feel that Josemi of Liverpool is a superb full-back, and it’s a shame we missed out on him.

Now, as the winter transfer window rolls ever closer, speculation is starting up again. Names I’ve heard mentioned are Kieron Dyer, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wes Brown, and Pablo Ibanez.

Of these, I think Wes Brown is the most likely.

He would be very cheap, or perhaps even free.
He wouldn’t need to be converted a new position.
He is experienced in the Champions League.
He’s actually fairly good.

He is seemingly always injured, though. Hm.

Discuss.

Well, sort of.

To be honest, there’s probably been a lot lost in translation with this whole story. As our friends over at Arseblog astutely point out, there are huge cultural differences in Spain that go some way towards explaining how something like this could ever be said in any sort of professional capacity.

Personally, I think Aragones may have even been trying to stir up some anger Reyes through abuse of his close friend and team-mate. Obviously, it has backfired hugely, and it doesn’t go any way towards justifying it, but like I said – it’s a tricky one to try and get to grips with.

So let’s leave it.

The subject of this whole scandal, Thierry Henry, has been named the new Gunner-Blog Man of the Moment, after two outstanding performances against Rosenborg, and later Charlton.

Yesterday’s AGM produced no noteworthy news.

Plus, I wasn’t there, so can’t really write about it.

Have a good weekend.

Yesterday, I was vehement in my criticism of the stadium’s new name.

My comments provoked a lot of interesting reaction, a lot of which seemed to suggest that I was being too quick to place judgement on a deal that will eventually earn the club around £100m.

I think that’s a fair point. Arsenal have a hugely expensive stadium to pay for, and this sum will certainly go some way towards balancing our books.

It could also be argued that this money might even be invested in the squad, improving the on-pitch product for all our fans.

Certainly there are worse alternatives to Emirates.

Hewlett Packard, for example.

However, my anger stems from a genuine sadness at the loss of so much history.

I’m incredibly proud of Highbury. It means so much to me and so many others. For whatever reason, I can’t imagine ever feeling the same attachment to “The Emirates Stadium”. It doesn’t feel like it’s ours.

That’s all I’m prepared to say, and that’s the root of any frustration I may have expressed.

Believe me, I am dying to be proved wrong.

In some very good news, Arsene Wenger is close to penning a new contract with us. He celebrated by visiting the site of the new stadium.

Some pictures are just so fantastically surreal that they don’t require a caption.

Looks like an airport, doesn’t it.

Criminal.

Absolutely criminal.

Chelski-branded shite.

We always knew this was going to happen – somewhere along the line some big company would come in with an offer we couldn’t refuse, and the-stadium-formerly-known-as-Ashburton-Grove would be renamed in a mostly rubbish way.

However, we hoped for a name with some credibility, or affiliation with the club.

The Nike Stadium.

The JVC Arena.

The John Lukic Bowl.

But no.

We get Emirates – the soulless bastards who sponsor Roman’s boys.

I’m off to go drown my sorrows on a Fanta Limon.

Rock.

The return of the absolutely fabregas Cesc coincided with a return to Arsenalâ??s trigger-happy form, putting four past Charlton on Saturday.

Cesc himself, alongside an impressive Patrick Vieira, was superb, whilst Thierry Henry did his talent justice for perhaps the first time this season, turning in an incredible performance capped by two extraordinary goals.

The first of which will be remembered forever (and not just because it fell in the 48th minute of our 48th game unbeaten). Receiving the ball eight yards out with his back to goal, he flicked the ball with his heel through the legs of Jonathan Fortune and into the net. Quite simply stunning.

Freddie had previously knocked in the first, and Henryâ??s brace was followed by a first-time Reyes drive.

Apologies for my absence â?? Iâ??ve been doing the whole â??uniâ? thing.

But Iâ??m still alive, so that canâ??t be a bad thing.

Apparently, Edu might be leaving. I wouldn’t be hugely surprised.

In other news, fallen angel Martin Keown could be set for a return to the Premiership with Pompey.

Watch your back, Horseface.

A flick with the outside of Ashley Cole’s left boot was enough for Arsenal to beat Manchester City 1-0, and leapfrog Chelsea at the top of the Barclaycard Premiership.

I just watched the full 90 minutes on Sky’s excellent Football First service, and it was a decent enough performance in a fast, furious, cup-tie-like match.

Jens Lehmann’s sure hands stood out, and Sol Campbell looked reassurringly solid upon his return after three months out injured.

Robin van Persie was an 88th minute substitute, making his long-awaited debut for the club. I’d imagine we might see him again on Wednesday.

You won’t, however, see me for a little while.

Well, you might.

But I’m off to uni tomorrow and I’m not sure when the next update will be. Probably not tomorrow. Or the day after.

Still, I’ll be back.

Eventually.