Ashburton Grove Gooners

Strong rumours he is going to sign for Panathinaikos today for around £1m plus add-ons on a lucrative three year deal.

Shame if he goes, good player for us and lose an experienced player. However, if he does go I reckon the chances are very strong that Arsene will bring in another player.

Fine by me, I'd love a new CM signing...though I would be sad to see Gilbs go.

Personally this confuses me.

I see a Diaby/Cesc partnership, with the likes of Denilson, Song or Djourou, Ramsey and Gilberto himself and maybe someone like Bischoff coming in as back-up. Now if Gilberto goes, then we have just one experienced central midfielder in the squad in Cesc... meaning surely Wenger will bring in a new face... but then what happens to Diaby and Denilson? If Diaby isn't ready now, when will he be? And if we are just bringing someone in as coverm then why sell Gilberto? Saying that, I trust Arsene has a plan and I know he knows what he's doing, but I just can't figure his plan out!

It'll be very interesting to see how this plays out.

If I'm betting, I'd say that Wenger buys, Diaby is first backup, Deni plays with the reserves (he sorta fell off the face of the planet last season, imo). Song'll stay as a defensive sub, so that takes car eof him. Ramsey will have to work his way in...I'm positive he'll be a super-sub in the Theo mold by the end of the season, though.

Probably. Wonder who though... we've been linked with loads be interesting to see who.

Anyways Gilberto has been a good player for us... good luck to him in Greece [if he goes]

I'd be satisfied with a veteran-type player.

We're not looking for anything flashy from a defensive minded mid...just a guy who can take a hit and hold down the center.

This is what we need... Someone imposing, who has plenty of energy, who can protect the back four both from surging runs and the long ball, who can sit back when needed but also attack, and obviously can fit into our passing game.

I'll be honest, I think we will struggle unless we bring in someone of exceptional quality, to find someone better than Diaby. There are question marks over him, but he has bags and bags of potential and I think it is about time for him to fulfil it.

See, to me, the guy who we get doesn't need to be exceptional. He doesn't need to be another Cesc-calibur player. He needs to be a banger who strikers and mids will think twice about trying to mess with.

Realistically, I'm not expecting a CDM to go on a scoring rampage, etc. Flam was great this season because he worked his ass off to help out the back line, fed Cesc and the strikers alright, and got into a good position every so often for a goal.

I think if you play as attacking football as we do, you need someone exceptional in midfield. We'll see who Arsene sees that player as soon I suppose. Now it looks like Gilberto has gone, and the Ronaldinho has gone to AC, we should see things start to move now.

Gilberto played next to two quite different players with success in his spell here and did well. For him this is probably the right move.

He'll have a good run in Greece, I wish him the best, of course.

As far as who ends up playing CDM for us at this point...we already have an exceptional midfielder in Cesc. What we need is a player willing not to go for all the glory and just be that plug in the midfield.

I agree that Cesc's partner should give him freedom to attack more. However due to the nature of our game he must have an attacking side to his game... i.e. he has to be a good passer, quick thinking, mobile etc. as well as protecting the back four and adding grit to the team.

gilberto is the most frustrating player in our side in my opinion. usualy, if we had not of lost a player of flamini's quality i would not batt an eye lid over his departure, as to be frank other than his positioning sense and tackling ability i dont think the bloke is worth a wank. his passing ability is nothing short of sunday league pub football at times.

why the fuck cant wenger just hurry the fuck up and sign senna. job done.

Gilberto has been 100% professional and a great leader for the team. He had a weak season with us last year and I cringed every timehe went out onto the pitch, but he had a few good moments at the end of the year. I will miss him and wish him th ebest but this is a good move for him and for us.

I'll agree with F in that we need outstanding players in our midfield. In fact, the only position that we can spare some skill is striker - and that's because we create so many opportunities.

A CDM should have the skills and attitude of Senna, as you said, Outlawed. Flamini was perfect in that role, but that's over. I guess Diaby would be the man for the job if he can stay fit. I do expect the boss to sign another midfielder though. I wouldn't mind YaYa, but I can never predict.

Seems that we're linked with Xavi Alonso now...