I've been grafting away this afternoon reading all the latest feeds and strewing my red-and-white wisdom around the web (well, I have to do something to try to publicise my humble little blog.)

But seriously, what can you say about these incessantly dull "Cesc to Barcelona" stories? Take one international week, add the Spanish press and an agent trying to talk up the value of his client, stand back and you'll be lucky if you don't lose the will to live. Funny how none of these reports mention Cesc's new eight year deal, Wenger's new deal and the myriad number of Cesc interviews in which he says he'll be here as long as Wenger is here.

One other story did catch my eye, though. Apparently Red Ken had given Peter Hill-Wood a hundred grand of my money (and maybe yours if you live in London) to help Arsenal bid for the Uefa cup final in 2011.

Two questions leap immediately to mind like Nicklas Bendtner to a Fabregas corner. Why aren't they bidding for the Champions League final? (Will they bid for that in 2012, our Olympic year?)

And why is Red Ken spending our money on the bid? Personally, I'm quite delighted about it. I mean, I'd love Arsenal to get any sort of European final and consider it good value at twice the price. But if I was a Spurs fan I'd be absolutely livid and would probably vote for the other bloke with the hair and the bicycle. Chelsea fans too, maybe, but they're all too busy at the opera or foreign, so presumably don't get to vote.

The Emirates would be a fitting stage for a major final. I was lucky enough to go to Paris in 06 and I remember vividly that feeling of wonder and anticipation before the event, the total involvement and sheer sense of magic during the match; yes, even in the bitter taste of defeat. (I always wondered what crushing defeat would actually taste like and now I know. It tastes of Pernod.).

That sense of poetic adventure is one of the reasons why we fall in love with the beautiful game. Not all of us can experience it, but when we do, it is beyond the expression of this rather prosaic blog.

I have no doubts that The Emirates would provide a fitting stage to the lucky few and they'd be a lot better at organising the mundane important little things that contribute to the overall experience than the French or Italian police could ever be.

In other news, a search party was dispatched last night to Aura. But no reports of the enemy being spotted, so the operation continues this evening. Preliminary indications are that it will be in a Chelsea nightclub. I'll keep you posted.