Transfer - Lassana Diarra (£5m-5.5m)

Arsenal Football Club have completed the signing of Lassana Diarra for an undisclosed fee of probably £5m-£5.5m at the death of the transfer window.

As yesterday threw up rumours of Manchester United scrambling around for anyone who can score and Everton being linked with Riquelme in spite of his signing for Athletico (the day before), the Arsenal were quiet. And effective.

This was the transfer rumour I described as one that would simply not go away. And in the end Chelsea did the unbelieveable and sold us the next Claude Makelele. A young French international destined to line up with Abou Diaby in central midfield for their country for a decade. Extraordinary. What on earth Chelsea are thinking is beyond me. But Arsene Wenger is delighted.

"Lassana is a multi-functional player, making him a great addition to our squad. Not only is he hard working, he has a creative edge and is comfortable playing in the middle of the pitch or at right back.”

Chelsea will be gutted that another French international has forced his way from their club aiming to work with Mr. Wenger.

“I have great respect for the manager Arsène Wenger and am attracted by the style of football that the team plays. Of course I am excited by what the future holds and keen to play my part in helping Arsenal fight for trophies this season and for years to come.”

Au revoir, Mourinho. The Arsenal project continues.

Transfer - Gilles Sunu (£1m)

After a summer of speculation Gilles Sunu has quietly appeared on a list of Arsenal reservists and young players.

Arsenal signed the 16 year old from Chateauroux in France on a 4 year contract for an initial £1m fending off interest from Liverpool amongst others keen to sign the U-16 French striker. The transfer could rise to £2.7m with apprearance and cap clauses.

Sunu is the son of former Togo international Manu Sunu and was a recommendation of Arsenal super scout Gilles Grimaldi. Inevitably, he has been dubbed the "new Henry" by the French press. His technique and pace are notable and he takes up unusal positions as a striker and likes to run at defenders like the Arsenal legend.

Transfer - Bakari Sagna (£7.5m)

Bakari Sagna has completed a successful medical in London and Arsenal Football Club have agreed a fee of £7.5m with Auxerre for the versatile defender.

Arsenal should unveil Sagna at a press conference some time today.

I have previously speculated about this transfer and it is certainly nice to be right once in a while.

Transfer Rumours - Mathieu Flamini/David Villa/Nicolas Anelka

Valencia have given Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini 72 hours to decide whether to join the Spanish club. Arsene Wenger is aware of the situation and has authorised the talks. Valencia sporting director Amedeo Carboni was clear about his interest in the player.

We have spoken to him and we want an answer soon as we must make plans for the coming season.

Howver, the weekends papers are suggesting that Flamini has changed his mind about wanting to leave Arsenal and this has apparently put the Bakiri Sagna transfer at risk.

Untrue.

Wenger was really quite definitive in his approach to dealing with Flamini in 2007. The midfielder's non appearance with the club during a period of heavy injury clearly suggests that Flamini is probably not in Wenger's long term plans.

TRANSFER POSSIBILITY RATING - 8/10

I expect this one to happen rather quickly. The likes of Birmingham have made enquiries about Flamini but he feels European football in vital to his continued participation in the France side (in spite of being called into but not yet appearing in the France team). Wenger will probably prefer to send Flamini abroad too.

David Villa

Valencia are also close to securing the services of former Gunner Nicolas Anelka. Part of the plans Carboni has involve bringing in the French striker as a potential replacement for David Villa.