NorthLondonPride was the first to report that a few weeks back we was close to signing Miralem Pjanic, It all seems to be coming out now after a recent interview with Metz manager Joel Muller by Setanta Sports.

Muller has agreed to speak about the 17-year-old, who is shining in Ligue 1 and who has been linked to The Gunners in the last few weeks.

“He is one of the rare young talents that show you in a minute that he is going to have a great career,” Muller told setantasports.com.

“As we are going to be relegated we have no choice and have to sell our jewel to earn money. I think that a team like Arsenal would help him to continue his education, with a coach-educator like Arsene Wenger and regarding the football they play, it would definitely be a good option.

“We helped Robert Pires and Adebayor to become great players, so Pjanic could go the same way. His talent needs to be brought out slowly.

“His technique is amazing; he reads the game and knows what is going to happen before everybody. He can play with his left foot, with his right foot and always creates the best situations.

“He anticipates and is a great passer. He can be a playmaker behind two strikers. I know that Arsenal don’t play with a playmaker, but Miralem can be used on the wing as well.

“His weak point is his lack of physical strength, but it will improve with time. The Italian league is not made for him, but I think that the English one is.”

The former Metz coach highlighted the midfielder’s strength of character by recalling an incident in the league.

“Our own fans behind the goal encouraged the opposite goalkeeper when Pjanic was about to take a penalty for us,” he said.

“He scored it, then had to do it again because there was a player in the box, and then went directly to make fun of the fans in front of them in the stands! That proves the winner and competitor he is.”

Muller was then asked to compare Pjanic to the player he resembles the most.

“It is difficult to compare him to another player to be honest,” Muller said. “I think we should wait for one or two years before doing it, but I deeply believe that he will have his own style.

“His football is very original. He loves to play facing the goal, not with his back to it, like Michel Platini did. He has not got Johan Cruyff’s strength, and it is too early to compare him to Zinedine Zidane.

“I expect him to create his own name.”

Muller is of course proud of Metz’s Academy, and he said: “We took him from Luxemburg, where we have great links and relations. He had to go there because of the war in Yugoslavia. His daddy was a professional player there.

“We expected him to play for the reserves but our sporting situation and bad summer recruitment rushed us to play him and he imposed himself.

“If his agents and himself take the right decision, he could have a superb European career. I think that he wants to carry on playing in the top flight. But maybe a team like Arsenal could sign him and loan him back to us for a year. It would be great for us.”

Its almost as if Arsenal now have drilled into the mentality of the squad that drawing a game is acceptable when to be quite frank it’s not. What are we trying to prove by attempting to keep the lost statistic down? We have drawn 4 games in a row giving us 4 points ok we haven’t lost but what are we really risking by going out with the intent to win, even during that period if we took the risk and lost 2 games but won the other 2 we would still be in a better points position. When you look at past teams of Wenger we would be direct with a high tempo and killing games of in the first half, even when we was down by a goal or two you always had that faith we would create good chances and get back into the game but with this team its far from the case.

Every game we start off with the same tempo and give the opposition time to settle in, even when we are 1-0 up there’s no attempt to kill the game off we just keep to the same game plan and what will be will be giving the opposition the chance to nick a draw and when they do it all dummies spat out like a bunch of children. In my honest opinion I’m not saying we don’t go out to win but we haven’t got that killer instinct, that drive and high tempo and really getting to the opposition, whether that comes down to the lack of personnel in the team who knows what it takes to win or just the obvious fact we think coming away with a point is good.

Alexandre Song where shall we begin. The young Cameroon defender started his trade in France with Bastia playing at the heart of the defence and it’s at Bastia were he earnt a reputation for ability to read the game at such a young age, Being in the right place and getting his foot in at the right time but his inexperience that told in the end when in high pressure situations but the potential was there and Europe was well aware. He made his move to Arsenal on loan initially making a small 5 appearances before securing a deal permanently the following season. During his full season with us there was an expectation as per normal but that’s just to be expected with Arsene finding and fielding a player at a young age but alot was left to be desired, He put in a number of very poor performances that left the fans in rage at times, He was off the pace, he was feeling the pressure, The ball wasn’t being released quick enough and the fans including myself just had to question was this a young player to far?.Song was loaned out to Charlton Athletic during the winter transfer window in hope he could prove to Arsene he can cut it out in this league, Well his loan spell at Charlton was an unsuccessful one for the club but for the players development it was a big step, He proved why he has what it takes and took his potential from Bastia to the next step. Playing in the centre of midfield for a team who’s struggling for survival in the league he was the bright spark, the tackles were being timed well, He was building in confidence with every game and really progressing as a player, if anything he was carrying that midfield in the last part of the season. I always remember Arsene saying he looks for a player that’s playing well in a team that’s doing bad and Alex certainly did that.

Alex returned to Arsenal this season with some rough experience and high optimism ahead but with the signing of Lassana Diarra I’m sure deep down that was short lived. During this season he has a number of games and a few tough away ties and has looked a different player to the one that left months ago. He’s been chucked in at centre back and thrown in midfield and has delt with the problem remarkably well something he couldn’t off done a year ago, He has certainly come on as a player you can tell by his presence on the pitch he has a calm feeling about him and knows what is required to be at this club. The thing that inspired me to make this post is his performances in the African Nations, He wasn’t thought of as a main player in the squad and maybe just there because of his relations to Rigobert but I’m not having that. Alex came on in the second half of their 4-2 defeat in the 1st game of the tournament and just stole the show he was absolutely everywhere you name it he done it from play making to defensive beast and took the heart of the midfield unlike a certain player could do in Makoun, A guy who was a £10 million transfer target for Manchester United few season back. How could Otto Pfister change around such a drab start from Cameroon? Simple really put Song in the heart of midfield and give him the ball , He certainly done that and Song enjoyed being a key figure for such a high pressure situation and just take the Ghana game for example , Semi Final of a big tournament against the favourites and hosts he out fought , out muscled and out battled the so called machine Essien and done his fair share of getting his Country into the final but you can be assured that Alex Song , The man with no expression , The silent warrior has a big future with us .

Arsenal look to have got their nose in front in the attempts to sign the midfield genius who has set the French league alight with numerous dazzling displays. There has been no formal offer as of yet but negotiations are set to start next week for the 17 year old who has attracted interest from numerous clubs in Europe.

Very early breaking news and will try update as soon as I hear something.