[Arsène] Wenger's mobile buzzes several times during an hour of rich and varied conversation. Without wishing to be impolite, he tries to steal a furtive glance at who is calling. There is still work to be done before the season opens. Wenger makes no secret of his need for another centre-half. And does he understand why people expect him to bring in a new goalkeeper? "Yes," he says, smiling ruefully.
This is as close as I've ever seen or heard the manager criticise the goalkeepers he has to choose from. During the season, he will never blame his current first choice for anything else than perhaps a slight moment of indecision. Maybe Amy Lawrence caught him off guard with a well formulated question.
Of course, the interview was done before yesterday's chaotic friendly at Legia Warsaw. Even when winning, 6-5 reminds me more of a Kevin Keegan parody than any Arsenal performance since Igors Stepanovs started an away game at Old Trafford.
This was truly a game courtesy of and inspired by Lukasz Fabianski and his transfer between the two clubs.
There is no reason whatsoever to expect Pepe Reina to join Arsenal from Liverpool in a £23m or £25m deal. Can you imagine Wenger spending that kind of money on anything but a training complex?! The story in yesterday's Sun is more likely to have come from the goalkeeper's own agents than any other source.
Any possible Mark Schwarzer transfer seems to have died a death with Fulham's new manager. Other managers aren't more likely to sell their first choice goalkeeper within days of the new season. So barring a truly exceptional development the next few days, Fabianski or Manuel Almunia will start at Anfield.
Before yesterday's defensive shambles in Poland, Wenger hadn't decided which of his four goalkeepers who will start the season as number 1, or which of the four who will go on loan. But those weren't the kind of goalkeeping decisions us fans hoped he would face after pre-season.
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