Usmanov wants to put pressure on the board about squad & wage structure! AW "A lot (of deals) were planned beforehand; it just took a lot longer than expected! Captains can get us over the line! Signs will all gel!” AFC to open contract talk with RVP! Arshavin “expect more from me to come!" Drame, Shaqiri, Biglia Linked!

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insists he always had the backing of the board to buy in the summer.

Some reports have claimed that Arsenal waited until Champions League qualification was secured before spending big in August. Wenger denies this.

"A lot of it was planned beforehand, it just took a lot longer than expected," he explained. "It was nothing to do with the Champions League, because we would still have wanted to go for the league even if we weren’t in the Champions League.

"If we were in the Europa League, we would still have wanted a strong squad. We are not the only ones who decide how long it takes to complete a transfer."

• Alisher Usmanov could get his hands on Arsenal's books as he attempts to increase his stake in the club.

Usmanov owns 29.35 per cent of the club but has sent a letter to select shareholders offering to buy their shares at £14,000 each - significantly more than Kroenke's last offer. The approach is being made through his investment company Red and White Holdings with a source saying they are "working their way through the register".

If Usmanov buys the 405 shares needed to increase his stake to more than 30 per cent he would be subject to the Premier League's Owners' and Directors' Test, their updated Fit and Proper Persons' Test.

Assuming he passes, then Usmanov will increase his demands to have a seat on the board - something that Kroenke, who owns 66.7 per cent of the club, has always refused.

But crucially, the American could not stop Usmanov from inspecting the club's accounts and the contracts of the squad and staff. The Uzbeki could use that to put pressure on the board by drawing attention to a number of issues - principal among them being the club's wage structure. Arsenal have struggled to keep their top earners with Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy and Kolo Toure all leaving to Manchester City in the last two years.

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is convinced of the leadership and character inside his locker room.

The Frenchman drafted in Per Mertesacker, Mikel Arteta, Yossi Benayoun, Ju Young Park and Andre Santos in the final days of the transfer window to add quality and raise the average age of his first-team squad.

“Sometimes we are reproached for not having enough captains in our squad, now we have plenty,” Wenger said.

“Overall we have more experience and this could be important if we are in a strong position should we have interesting challenges in March or April. That could have a big part to play.

"We got criticised a lot last season for not getting over the line, but I believe that we were so close, so, so close that it was unbelievable to accept. But we have added more experience. Also last year we lost important players in March and April because we went for all the trophies, so hopefully we have the squad to do it and this time it will happen.

“In every position you always have number one, two and three, knowing there is a not a lot between them. But basically I’m very happy with the signings we made and my challenge now is to prove that I made the right decisions. I have great belief in the players I bought in and I am convinced they will prove me right.”

• Arsenal are pushing to open new contract talks with Robin van Persie.

The Gunners will attempt to open contract talks with their star player next month amid fears vultures from home and abroad are already circling ahead of the January transfer window.

Van Persie has raised doubts over his future by revealing he does not wish to discuss a new deal before the end of the season.

Gazidis is understood to have given Richard Law the green light to try to tempt Van Persie, who will be 29 in August, with the offer of a four-year contract and increase his wages to £90,000 per week.

• Corinthians chief Edu admits he's been tapping into his Arsenal network while in London.

Edu has been back in London to gather ideas for Corinthians’ new stadium project having been appointed general manager back in Brazil. So, has he sought out Arsène Wenger for advice on his new role?

“Yes I have spoken to him but the advice he gave to me was during the times I was with him,” Edu said.

“They were great times, I learned a lot and I told him this week that everything I learned was from him.

“Now I am manager of Corinthians it is quite different to managing in England. In Brazil we have a coach and then a manager. The coach looks after the team on the pitch and the manager looks at everything around that - they have to sign players and get other things done.

“But I learned a lot of things from Arsène Wenger and many things in Brazil too.”

• Andrey Arshavin admits he is yet to come to the party for Arsenal this season.

The Russian international has been a shadow of the man who had a brilliant debut season for the Gunners in 2009 and knows he is yet to produce his best for the North London club in the early stages of this campaign.

Arshavin says he plans to give more to the club and hopes that the fans start to really get on his case to help produce his best.

“They should expect more from me, of course," Arshavin said. "They should expect some more tricks, goals and unbelievable passes.

"To be honest I am still expecting more from me as well. But believe me, I do everything I can do.

"I just have to give everything I can at the moment, just on the pitch. I want to score more goals and bring my team to the title."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is confident his late summer signings will prove good decisions.

Wenger would rather have held onto a couple of the players he let go but the manager believes that Arsenal will be stronger after bringing in a number of new faces.

“It was all change in the summer and some of that was for unwanted reasons,” Wenger said.

"We lost some players that we didn’t want to lose, also we had some players that hadn’t played for a while, so we thought it was important to renew the whole squad, and that’s what we did.

"It was a challenge, and believe me it demanded massive work – day and night. But overall I’m confident. I believe there was some anxiety around the Club and the team, but I always felt in our situation that a lot would happen in the last 48 hours, because I’ve experienced that before. And that’s what did happen.

"So let’s show that we have made the right decisions – I’m confident that we have – but only the results will tell."

• Arsenal scouts feel Ousmane Drame could be an instant hit should he make the move to England.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is in regular contact with the Padova attacker's agent, George Atangana, about the 18 year-old.

Despite his tender years, Drame's physique makes him ideally suited to the Premier League and observers say even at this early stage of his career, he would have no problem handling the physical demands of English football.

Drame can play as a striker, but favours the right-wing and his pace and power has drawn comparisons with Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery.

• FC Basle winger Xherdan Shaqiri is happy being followed by Europe's biggest clubs.

The youngster has been tracked by the likes of Arsenal over the past year.

"I'm in good form and obviously I am pleased that so many clubs have noticed me," Shaqiri said. "But I am just thinking about helping my team win the championship in my country and qualify for the next round of the Champions League."

• Anderlecht star Lucas Biglia is aware of Arsenal's interest.

The Gunners and Liverpool are watching the Argentine as they consider strengthening their midfield options in January.

Biglia said: "I know that there are movements but they are just usual events to me."
Anderlecht rate Biglia at £8 million.