THIS IS the current first team squad. How complete is it? Is it still lacking in depth? You decide.

Goalkeepers - Jens Lehmann, Lukasz Fabianski, Manuel Almunia.

Two tried and tested goalkeepers, and one promising one. Lehmann is almost certainly in his last season.

Full backs (left) - Armand Traore, Gael Clichy.

Both are very fast, agile players who are good at going forward. Clichy is arguably now just behind Abidal for international caps.

Full backs (right) - Justin Hoyte, Emmanuel Eboue, Bacary Sagna, Kerrea Gilbert.

Three players with good experience, one (Gilbert) who is younger and may well be moving on (probably/hopefully on loan). Eboue may well move up into right midfield this season. Eboue has African Cup of Nations duty early next year.

Centre backs - Kolo Toure, William Gallas, Phillipe Senderos, Johan Djourou, Matthew Connolly, Harvard Nordtveit.

Four internationals there, all of whom have got considerable experience now. But only Senderos is considered ‘tall’ by many Gooners, who worry about our defence’s ability to deal with long ball tactics and set pieces. Connolly and Nordtveit may well get their chance in the Carling Cup. Toure has African Cup of Nations duty too.

Wide midfielders - Theo Walcott, Alexander Hleb, Tomas Rosicky.

For me, this is where Arsenal are short. No left-footers there. Eboue makes four, but again, he’s right-footed. Walcott could play more up front in the near future. There is no sure sign yet as towards who’ll play where next season. Kieron Gibbs and Fran Merida may well get promoted up for cup games.

Centre midfielders - Abou Diaby, Denilson, Gilberto, Cesc Fabregas, Mathieu Flamini, Alex Song, Mark Randall.

Lots of depth there, and at the time of writing, possibly to include Chelsea’s Lassana Diarra too. Gilberto and Fabregas gel well now together. The others will have to impress during cup competitions.

Forwards - Emmanuel Adebayor, Robin van Persie, Eduardo da Silva, Nicklas Bendtner.

Again, four internationals, but this time with varying degrees of top flight experience. I feel Arsenal are short here should there be injuries or lack of form. Adebayor has African Cup of Nations duty next year too.

Let’s just recollect who has gone and who has come in this summer:

Outs: Ljungberg, Muamba, Reyes, Aliadiere, Baptista and Henry. Bentley, Larsson, Stokes and Lupoli also left Arsenal last season.
Ins: Sagna, Fabianski, Nordtveit and Eduardo. Plus Bendtner has returned from a promising loan spell.

A lot of Gooners believed last season’s squad was too small. I think it is now smaller.

SO, ARSENAL F.C. and Nike have released two new shirts this summer; an ‘innovative white shirt’ which the marketers would have you believe was straight from the mind of the great Herbert Chapman, as well as a third shirt; which would not be too dissimilar to a Barcelona shirt laying horizontal…

Judging from the crowds at the recent ‘Emirates Cup’, the ploy has paid off in spades, and online criticism from some Gooners about the white kit resembling a certain other London side appear to represent the views of the minority; for there were thousands of fans wearing them. It certainly, to my eyes, has a nice aesthetic quality, and the feel of the shirt is nice too (I have not purchased one myself, I am more of a training kit man - I feel it is a little more timeless). I have personally disliked the more recent yellow Arsenal away shirt offerings produced since 2000 (the Nike ‘Weetabix’ 1997/8 shirt being my favourite away shirt) - they are too vivid to be worn anywhere in public outside of games, whereas the blue shirts lend themselves well to jeans…

The third shirt is certainly radical - combining two very different colours and incorporating them into horizontal stripes. Add the gold trim, and you have a very catchy shirt. But just how often will these shirts actually be worn? Is this just another ploy by the club (albeit one perhaps a bit more cynical than before) to cash in on Gooner’s somewhat disproportionate good faith?

I cherish having Nike make our kits. I know some people hate Nike - with question marks hanging over their perceived ethics - but I believe they make a good looking kit with genuinely innovative features. I would hate to wear a ‘Hummel’, ‘Le Coq Sportif’ or ‘Lonsdale’ kit like some of our league rivals have/do. But the release of two kits in two months, plus a new home kit next season, seems a touch too ‘Manchester United, Liverpool or Tottenham’ to me.

At least we are not Barcelona, Inter Milan or Ajax fans however – They change both kits every season!

THE COMPETITION has come and gone. New players have been blooded, older ones have been in new roles and some exciting teams have been seen by many for the first time.

I was at The Emirates Stadium for match-day-two, along with my brother (in a Valencia shirt…) to witness Paris Saint-Germain vs Valencia C.F. and Arsenal vs Internazionale Milan.

Game One was a poor affair, with Valencia fielding a strong side (on paper), and PSG fielding a relatively unknown contingent in their starting eleven. PSG ran out 3-0 winners, and Valencia didn’t even break out of second gear for any of the 90 minutes. Very poor and surely cause for concern for any Los Ches fans watching (not though, my brother, who is a Liverpool fan and who took great delight in seeing Morientes playing as ineptly for Valencia as he did for the Scousers)…David Villa certainly didn’t look like a £40m striker and Joaquin looked lost in the second half!

Game Two promised to be more interesting; Arsenal coming in off a 2-1 win over PSG the previous afternoon, and Inter recovering from a 2-0 loss to Valencia also that day. Arsenal started as Lehmann; SAgna, Toure, Gallas (C), Hoyte; Eboue, Fabregas, Flamini, Hleb, Gibbs; van Persie. Inter named a mix of experience, new signings and youth players. The first half was all Arsenal, but the team displayed all their usual 2006/7 faults; good approach play, no confidence in shooting. Gibbs - starting on the left wing - to me looked out of his depth. Van Persie showed good touches and stung Julio Cesar’s hands with a wicked, angled free-kick late in the half. Eboue and Sagna combined well on the right flank. But it was 0-0 at h/t. The second half was a better affair, with Arsenal commanding possesion and breaking at will whenever Inter trundled into Arsenal territory. Several penalty appeals were turned down, but with Eboue and Sagna bursting down the right at will, surely a goal would come soon…
Of course, one did. At Arsenal’s end. Yes, the old 0-1 down at home play came into, well, play. An Inter break resulted in a clever near post cross, which Suazo (a new Honduran striker from Cagliari) nodded in off of Lehmann’s near post. Damn. Arsenal responded well, and a few minutes later, sub-keeper Toldo saved superbly from Hleb (shooting for once), only to concede the follow up, a fantastic drive at a tighter angle across the keeper’s body. 1-1 and rapturous applause (the crowd had only been rapturous beforehand in the baiting of persona no gratis Materazzi; he of the Zidane WC2006 baiting) from the home fans. Bendtner, Traore and Denilson arrived, and in the dying seconds, with the ‘title’ heading to PSG, van Persie wiggles free in the area, uses a skill on the ball with both feet that defied all previous known laws of physics and nets with a clever rising shot past Toldo’s near post. Game, set and match to the home team. Gallas picks up the cup to the delight of the Gooner faithfull.

All well and good, but what can we (or at least, I) deduce from these glorified training sessions?

- Arsenal lack width on the left. Not a ground breakingly new observation, but still a relevent one.
- Arsenal (or at least van Persie) missed having a second striker on the pitch.
- Sagna looked class throughout, forwards and backwards!
- Flamini and Fabregas worked well in CM. But not enough ‘through balls’ to van Persie.
- Gibbs doesn’t yet look first team material.
- Toure and Gallas at CB looked ok, not terrible, not great.
- Hleb produced in fits and spurts, and really, really needs to shoot more (still) - he has a good shot on him!
- I would say Arsenal need a winger and a top class striker before August 11th. Quaresma and Huntelaar would be my choices, but failing them, Palacio and Elano would do!

In all actuality, I would expect Zagreb’s Luka Modric to sign fairly soon - he is a wide Croatian international midfielder, and maybe a striker too…my heart says Anelka (he has unfinished business) but my head says Gouffran of Caen. This weekend, Rosicky, Eduardo, Adebayor and Walcott were indeed missed. Eboue and Sagna have real right-wing potential. They ate up Inter’s new LB Chivu for an early dinner!

So, maybe these were not an important pair of games, maybe they were not at full fitness, but Arsenal didn’t really show, today at least, that last season’s mistakes, or at least, culpability on the pitch have been rectified just yet.