Arsenal’s half-year results, released last week, make for comforting reading for the simple reason that despite a recessionary environment the club has largely managed to stick to plan as regards property sales and debt management.

The plan was that The debt incurred to build the new stadium would steadily be paid down with proceeds from the sale of property developed at Highbury. Wenger has also had to keep transfer expenses under check and, over most of the duration at least, ensuring Champions’ League revenues to build a healthy cash flow. Increased revenue from the new stadium, would also contribute to maintaining these healthy cash levels.

That Arsenal managed to pull the lot off in the midst of a global recession is praise worthy, especially considering Pompey’s travails, the fan revolt underway at Manchester United, and the debt to equity conversions by the Abramovich’s of the world.

Given that we still are in the title race, this could be the season where the whole project comes to fruition.

Ryan Shawcross, responsible for two broken legs so early in his career, bravely says “I won’t change my style despite Aaron Ramsey’s injury”.

He certainly won’t unless harsh penalties are exacted for mindlessness. Knowing that you’ll miss a lengthy stretch of games, for starters, and that your manager will kick your head in for inviting such a fate on yourself, your certainly going to change your style Mr. Shawcross.

And is “style” the apt word at all for Shawcross’s exploits? Whatever you wish to call it “style” doesn’t ring true

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We play Burnley today, with Denilson and Arshavin available again. The big question is whether Diaby will be available alongside Cesc in midfield.

Denilson hasn’t been at his best lately and Rosicky or Nasri alongside Cesc isn’t quite a “like for like” substitution. Eboue there perhaps with Nasri and Arshavin on the flanks?

Gallas remains injured, and I find Campbell a far more reassuring option than Sylvestre. Arseblogger suggests Campbell isn’t a certainty leaving me uneasy. We’ll see.

Easy as the run of games ahead seems on paper, we are variously encountering quite a few teams competing for top four finishes or aiming to avoid relegation. Add to this our Champions’ League commitments, couple more rounds of meaningless international friendlies, and our wretched luck with injuries, and an easy run-in isn’t self evident at all.

We need application and luck to successfully negotiate this stretch with every game crucial to sustain our title challenge.

Finally, I’d like to draw readers’ attention to Richard Williams’ verdict on Theo Walcott in the aftermath of the England-Egypt friendly:

Here are pertinent extracts, and I’d appreciate our readers’ views on the analysis and the verdict:

…sort of incisive contribution that Arsenal’s supporters have seen too rarely this season since the return of the young forward from the latest operation to cure his congenital shoulder problems.

Sparingly used by Arsène Wenger, he has made only seven starts this season, three of them since the turn of the year, with just one goal, against Blackburn back in October, to show for his efforts.

One of the problems of playing Walcott on the wing is that, unlike Lennon or any specialist in the role, he has no tricks – and, bizarrely, in three years under Wenger, playing almost invariably on the flank, he does not seem to have picked up any.

On several occasions, facing his marker with the ball at his feet and space waiting to be exploited behind the defence, he was comfortably dispossessed at the first time of asking by Said Moawad or Hossam Ghaly.

His failings would have been more obvious in the context of a better collective performance. Fortunately for him others were doing even worse. Wayne Rooney, spoken of during the week as one of the two or three best players in the world, produced what may have been his worst 45 minutes of football since turning professional, giving the ball away with what should have been straightforward passes on several occasions, while his strike partner, Jermaine Defoe, gave a tepid showing that led to his withdrawal at the interval.

Great credit had to be awarded to Egypt, who looked every inch the champions of Africa. Solid in their ball-winning capacity and athletic in their ability to spring forward against an anxious England defence, they were rewarded for their first-half supremacy by an excellent goal from Mohamed Zidan.

And, in conclusion, “Seconds later Walcott was leaving the field, to be replaced by Wright-Phillips, having been unable to provide a shred of evidence to change the minds of those who believe that the golden display of September 10, 2008 was a bit of a fluke and that he has not trained on.

Let’s see: The young player has endured a season without a sustained run that enables one to find form; on the back of this he goes into a game where the opponents put in a solid performance and quite a few of his own team mates put in off colour performances, and doesn’t acquit himself particularly well.

What are your views on Walcott?

Well then, here’s to three points against Burnley.