The summer at Arsenal continues its current trend of all outs and no ins.

Jose Antonio Reyes has AGAIN come out and stated his desire to join Madrid, and has this time let slip that if things went according to his wishes, he’d join Madrid before Tuesday’s Champions League qualifier in Zagreb. He also mentioned a generous Madrid “offer”, though what he means by it is open to speculation. Madrid could have made a serious offer, or they could have merely inquired about the availability of the player.

Either way, there cannot be any confusion now on the fact that Reyes is indeed unhappy at Arsenal and would love to move back to Spain. Credit to the player that unlike a certain English colleague of his, he’s chosen not to blame the club and has constantly praised the coach, the players and most of all, the fans. It makes sense to not keep an unhappy and unsettled player at the club and recoup our investment, especially when a possible deal to bring Baptista could be back on the cards.

Ryan Smith, one of the more promising young talents at the club, has signed a 3-year deal at Derby County for an undisclosed fee. The 18-year old spent nearly all of last season on loan at Leicester City, becoming a fan favourite in no time. However, he’s been very unlucky with injuries and could not really put together a steady run in the reserves to merit a first-team chance. He’s a good prospect and a hard working lad, and I wish him all the best for the future.

Birmingham City also seem to be feeding their new-found hunger for Arsenal youths. They’ve grabbed striker Nic Bendtner on a season-long loan, and the Dane joins midfielders Fabrice Muamba and Seb Larsson at St. Andrews. Let’s hope this loan spell gives him some much needed first team experience, which realistically, he wasn’t going to get considering the presence of Adebayor, van Persie and Walcott.

A lot of fans are very worried, understandably so, at our lack of transfer activity this summer, especially as last season was our worst finish in almost a decade, and despite our excellent Champions League run, everyone knew that the squad needed strengthening. The first XI are capable of beating any team on their day, but it’s the squad depth that gets us through a season. Wenger, though, is not stupid, and I’m inclined to think that he’s waiting to resolve the Ashley Cole transfer (and now the Reyes-Madrid situation), and will then enter the market armed with that transfer money.

Time is running out though, we’re already into August and I hope that we get to bring some fresh faces in before the Premiership kicks off on the 19th.