It started so full of hope, with the astute purchase of Chamakh being followed up by a typical Wenger signing in the form of Koscielny. Squillaci’s arrival was also a welcome one, giving the defence a necessary makeover. A ‘keeper then, and Arsenal could be counted as serious title challengers once more.

But as the time slowly moved towards the transfer deadline that goalkeeper, astonishingly, never arrived. And on that decision rests the hopes of our season once more. That final hurdle suddenly looks harder to clear.

To fall so painfully short in the transfer market once again is, in my eyes, inexcusable. Wenger clearly believed Fulham would eventually find a replacement for Mark Schwarzer and allow the Australian to join the Gunners, but the price of that gamble could prove the difference between first and third place.

Instead we must rely on Manuel Almunia, a player who must surely know that his manager no longer trusts him as his first choice, yet is forced to turn to him out of necessity. What effect does that have on a player mentally? Only the coming months will answer that question.

Of course, that’s not to say this summer has been a failure. A shake up in the defence was much needed and in Mikael Silvestre, Sol Campbell and William Gallas we have got rid of three players whose best days are far behind them. Laurent Koscielny looks to be a player who will soon adjust to the Premier League, while Sebastien Squillaci will provide experienced cover and, at 30 years old, is hardly past his peak.

As Wenger so often points out, the benefit of having such a young team is there’s a noticeable improvement in each season that passes. And the midfield will reap the rewards of such an approach this year, with Samir Nasri seeming particularly sharp and Jack Wilshere providing another option in central areas. Out wide Theo Walcott has started in sparkling form and when he’s on song his pace really can prove to be the difference.

Effectively trading Eduardo for Chamakh is a wonderful piece of business as well. I, like so many Arsenal fans, was sad to see the Croatian international move on from the Emirates but it was the right thing to do. Marouane Chamakh fits the 4-3-3 formation perfectly and his athletic and hard working approach to the game makes him becoming a fans favourite in North London a question of when rather than if.

So plenty to still be positive about then, but in failing to fix the goalkeeping problem has Wenger ensured we’ll be nearly-men yet again?

Winners

Emmanuel Frimpong – Probably the biggest winner of the lot from this weekend. Wenger trusted the 18 year old with the holding role for both days, and the youngster played an incredible 160 minutes of football across the two days. Understandably he tired on the second day with several wayward passes but never stopped running making key tackles all over the pitch. It was the second half against AC Milan that really highlighted what he is capable of though, with a fantastic display against former Gunner Mathieu Flamini. I think he needs another defensive minded player alongside him to really perform but it seems he has done enough to become part of Wenger’s plans for this season.

Jack Wilshere – Inevitably Wilshere was the most talked about player from the Emirates Cup for the second year running. The only player to play every minute of both games is an incredible feat in itself and the teenager did play well in a more withdrawn midfield role. Not certain that this is his best position as it takes away his explosive ability to go past players as often as he can further forward but he showed exactly what the hype is all about with an unbelievable volley that smashed against the crossbar against Celtic.

Laurent Koscielny – It’s been diificult to gauge what the former FC Lorient player is all about until this weekend, but Saturday’s display against AC Milan did highlight why Wenger was so keen on bringing him to the Emirates this summer. Very aggressive, Koscielny always looks to win the ball as quickly as he can, especially if the ball is played into the striker’s feet. Looked decent in the air too, whilst on the ball he was extremely comfortable.

Marouane Chamakh – It came as no surprise to me that the Moroccan international looks to be a quality signing by Wenger. He has fantastic movement across the defensive line and his link up play with the midfielders, especially Nasri, is excellent. Anyone who saw the Bordeaux fans emotional goodbye to Chamakh will have wondered just why they were so fond of a striker who isn’t exactly prolific, but when you see just how much work he gets through for his team it starts to make sense.

Losers

Johan Djourou – Maybe saying anyone truly lost out during a pre-season tournament is harsh, but it’s the easiest way of categorising how everyone did over the weekend. And unfortunately there remains question marks over Johan Djourou at the back. It’s not his talent or ability on the ball, but concentration is key and he fails to inspire confidence. Having said that obviously he’s been out a long, long time and the form will return eventually.

Mark Randall – I was very surprised that Randall was involved at all at the weekend and I think that his cameo appearance may be the last we see of them at a senior level for Arsenal. Full of promise at 16, almost gone backwards since then. The groan of disappointment when he missed two easy chances against Milan symbolised his Arsenal career in many ways. There was potential but it hasn’t been fulfilled and a permanent move is surely around the corner.

Tomas Rosicky – Firstly, it’s not that he played particularly badly, but I am not convinced he helps our play as much as he hinders it at times. I lost count of the number of times on Saturday where there were great forward runs ahead of him by Nasri and Chamakh and instead Rosicky backed out of playing a through ball, turned a few times and found a defender. I think he’s still a good squad option but the player I loved when he arrived at the club I am not convinced has a key role to play any more.

Missing out on France’s car-crash of a World Cup campaign seems to have galvanised the 23 year old judging by his pre-season form with Nasri looking physically stronger and going by yesterday’s performance, the sharpest of the Arsenal players at this stage.

He opened the scoring by showing quick feet and and rifling a finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the area before find the top corner with a wonderfully struck free kick shortly before half time, when he was withdrawn from the action.

He’s always been excellent at retaining possession in tight areas and finding a team mate but the frustration has been that he is clearly capable of so much more. Staying fit will of course be crucial but if he manages that then this could be the year where we see the real Samir Nasri.

Another criticism has been that he can’t play on the wing and it’s true that he would prefer to be at the heart of the action, just as most players with his attributes would. But I disagree that he can’t play excellently on the right or on the left, he has had games where he has been brilliant on the flanks. I is simply a case of needing him to grow more as a player and become more consistent and confident in his his approach to the game.

And judging on his displays in pre-season thus far, it appears that he may just have found his feet at last.

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Other stand-out performers in the comfortable 3-0 win over Sturm Graz were undoubtedly Havard Nordtveit and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas who both looked like players who are desperate to become part of Wenger’s plans this season.

That might be a target out of reach for Jay Emmanuel-Thomas but Eduardo leaving maybe there is a small opportunity for him somewhere, and if not then I am certain many clubs will be looking at a loan deal. He really does have a brilliant touch and great feet, especially when you consider he is built more like an American footballer than a typical Arsenal player. His talent I don’t think is in question but his future at this club will be decided by his application and attitude – if he gets those right then there is no reason why he can’t forge a career for himself at the Emirates.

Nordtveit, meanwhile, has come to the end of his footballing education out on loan and will surely fancy a place in the 1st team squad for next season as a utility player to fill in when needed at right back, centre back or as a holding midfielder. He’s showed great composure so far this pre-season and I’d really like to see how he copes at centre back when Sagna and Eboue return to their right back roles.

As for more impressions of the new signings, there was little to be said that hasn’t already been mentioned. Laurent Koscielny likes to keep tight and win the ball early much like Vermaelen does, and his heading ability was shown a little more in the Sturm Graz game. Marouane Chamakh continues to ease himself into pre-season and despite the heat and tiring training schedule seemed one of the more energetic players with some excellent pressure from the front. His touch was hit and miss but having seen him at Bordeaux I’d put that down to heavy legs rather than poor technique.

Of the two it was far easier to get a good idea of what Marouane Chamakh is all about – maybe because I have already seen more than enough of the athletic striker for Bordeaux to know what he will bring to the team. He is very much the sort of striker that creative midfielders need to play well, a “wall” to play off up front in many ways. His touch is very good and he more often than not finds an intelligent pass into the feet of one of the supporting players. The Moroccan’s aerial prowess could be an important weapon that we didn’t see a lot of today, but from his Bordeaux performances that I saw it is very clear that he will be a handful for any defender.

I think the big question is where he will fit in here, and today gave us no real clue as he played the part of a target man for the second half, a role that he can certainly fill – but when Robin van Persie returns will he stay central, be moved out wide or left on the bench as an impact substitute and 2nd choice main striker? Those are the questions that only time will give us the answers to.

Laurent Koscielny, meanwhile, enjoyed a far more comfortable afternoon than his defensive partner Vermaelen did a year ago in the same fixture. My first impression is that he seems like a defender who is in the same mould as his Belgian team mate, with an obvious desire to win the ball ahead of the striker and move out of defence with the ball. Too similar? Not if they learn to play together as a partnership, and that will be crucial if he has indeed been brought in as a first choice. On the ball he looked as calm and composed as you’d expect of a Wenger signing, and the coming pre-season fixtures will hopefully give us a better insight on the summer signing from Lorient.

As for the other players on show, it was Emmanuel Frimpong who really shone today as one of the younger players looking to catch the eye. The game highlighted his strength, determination and desire to press the ball quickly and was a big factor in our monopoly of possession. Unfortunately his passing ability does let him down at times, whilst against any side who are good on the ball he’d need another midfielder sitting with him, in the way that he and Coquelin formed such a great partnership at youth level. Hopefully he’ll get himself a good loan move on the back of this pre-season and take it from there.

Jack Wilshere was another to look lively, with typical intelligence throughout his half of football which resulted in two assists for Jay Simpson. Will this be the year he is ready for Arsenal? I’m not as convinced as many, certainly in a central position as he can take big risks that weren’t picked up on at Bolton as they would be at the Emirates. There’s no doubting he is destined for great things in the future though.

Elsewhere Ignasi Miquel as the youngest player to take part did well at centre back and Andrey Arshavin was outstanding as he continually tormented the Barnet right back. Conor Henderson was also very calm and composed as he got a chance in midfield for the second half, whilst the two players who disappointingly missed out on a World Cup place, Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri, looked pretty sharp as they look to prove a point this season.

Arsenal, welcome back.

The World Cup may have been a good distraction (despite a startlingly poor standard of football) but it’ll good to be able to watch us start our preparations for the new season in the annual fixture against Barnet at Underhill. And when you’re an England supporter as I am, even the prospect of us falling painfully short again this season is far more enjoyable than seeing the Three Lions embarass themselves in front of the world.

And pre-season is always a fun and interesting insight into the manager’s thinking, and this summer should be no different. Shorn of Gallas, Silvestre, Senderos and Campbell at the back a lot of eyes will be on how the defence looks even at this early stage of proceedings. Koscielny seems the typical astute signing, the sort we now almost expect to come good as the likes of Vermaelen and Sagna did before him, but what type of player is he? Not many genuinely know, and Barnet will be an opportunity to get a first impression of the 24 year old.

Chamakh I know a lot more about and I will be hoping to see a few little partnerships developing between him and the other forwards. He’s certainly the type of player who will allow creative and attacking players to play off him, and so the likes of Nasri or even Wilshere should enjoy his presence in the squad I feel.

But it’s all too early to really judge either player and so the highlight of the Barnet game has to be the younger players trying to impress their manager and gain a place on the pre-season trip to Austria. Conor Henderson, with his cool reading of the game and fantastic passing range has looked every bit a deep-lying playmaker in the youth team, a type of player we have very rarely produced. Whether he’ll make it is a different question, but he certainly has a continental style to him that I think Wenger certainly appreciates.

Ignasi Miquel is another starlet that seems to meet Wenger’s specification of a centre back, with a calm approach to the game built on good reading and athleticism and the sort of technique most academies would only want in their number 10s.

I won’t go over every youngster but elsewhere there are those who have had loan spells and now want to push on – players like Nacer Barazite, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Havard Nordtveit in particular will want to prove their worth, whilst obviously the only question many have with Jack Wilshere is whether his time is now or next year.

It feels good to be able to write about a game again, and hopefully the Gunners will put on a show for the Arsenal fans at Underhill tomorrow afternoon.

“There is nothing in the reports linking Neven with Arsenal. I don’t know where this has all come from.

“He only recently signed a new five-year deal at Dortmund and it would take big money for any move to happen. I have had no contact with Arsenal. I have spoken to Dortmund and they have told me that they have had no contact with Arsenal whatsoever.”

The Daily Mail are also reporting that long term Gunners target Marouane Chamakh is no longer wanted by Arsenal after they refused to budge from the £6m valuation of the striker. Instead the newspaper are reporting that West Ham and Fulham now lead the race for the Moroccan with Roy Hodgson possibly willing to include Diomansy Kamara in their bid. We shall have to wait and see whether they are any more accurate in their reporting of this rumour.

The long running saga looks set to continue to the deadline however, following Wenger hinting that there is likely to be no movement on transfers until after the start of the season. Triaud confirmed that there has been no more offers from Arsenal since their opening bid of 7m Euros was rejected 10 days before and that there has been “no signs of life” from the Gunners since then.

“If Arsene Wenger really wants Marouane, I suppose it will end up happening. [But at the moment] the question of his departure does not arise, unfortunately for him [Chamakh].”

Bordeaux are still reportedly holding out for 12m Euros for the forward but with only a year left on his contract the Moroccan could start to negotiate a free transfer for next summer in just 5 months time so the pressure is on the French club to get what money they can for one of their star assets now while they still can. Chamakh, who scored on the opening day of Ligue 1 this weekend, is willing to consider a move to any club with West Ham and Sunderland acredited with an interest, while Bordeaux wish only to sell him if a big club comes in.

It will be interesting to see which club gives way first.

The Arsenal manager was speaking at Arsenal’s charity launch, Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in North London, and he also dismissed rumours that Arsenal had been in contact with Fulham over defender Brede Hangeland, although did admit that the Gunners were interested in defensive reinforcements with the news that Senderos may leave the club soon.

“We had a look at him, but we have not contacted Fulham, have not contacted Hangeland and have not made our choice on him or anybody else. We can still make do with one or two players more. One could be in the defensive areas, and one in the attacking areas.

We make a few enquires for players, but we are nowhere near to signing anybody at the moment. Usually the transfer market speeds up from August 26 up to midnight on 31st – especially in the last two hours.

There is an interest from Everton [for Senderos], but he is still our player. He has an opportunity to go because he only has one year left on his contract, so we will see what happens next week.”

Wenger also revealed that he was not close to re-signing former club captain Patrick Vieira and that he believed Bordeaux were guilty of overpricing Moroccan forward Marouane Chamakh, no doubt in a bid to reduce their demands for their star striker. While this latest interview suggests at least that Wenger is looking for reinforcements there still seems to be some way to go before there will be any new arrivals at the Emirates.