Hamburgers tonight, Cesc for another 8 years, Bendtner off and Walcott to play.... possibly

Arsenal start the group phase of their Champions League campaign tonight with an away game against German side Hamburg. Henry is out, groan, with a foot problem so Wenger is toying with the idea of playing 4-5-1. If he does that then there is a chance that Walcott will start on one of the wings. Not sure who would play up front, Adebayor perhaps!? I'd like to see Lehmann, Rosicky and Hleb taking the lead against German opposition. They all came from the Bundesliga so they should know a little about how to play against this side. However Arsenal play they'll be lining up in a changed strip, not just in colour but in design. UEFA don't allow two teams to face eachother wearing the same sponsor so 'Fly Emirates' will be replaced on Arsenal's shirts with 'Dubai'.

In other news:

Nicklas Bendtner continues to make headlines, this time for getting sent off in Birmingham's 2-0 win over QPR. The win takes Birmingham top of the Championship, good news since 3 Arsenal lads are on loan there.

Great news coming out of Arsenal today is that Cesc has agreed at an 8-year contract extention! 8 years! Sweet! He's going to be a key Arsenal player for years to come and it's great to see the club signing him up on an extended deal. Kind of flies in the face, ba boom, of Ashley 'write a book' Cole's revelations about Fabregas possibly being the player who launched the pizza at Ferguson. What a joke.