Cesc was already on a pro contract, but has signed an extension keeping him with us "for his long-term future".

Cesc says, "I'm delighted to be pledging my long-term future to Arsenal. My first year here has been like a dream, I never thought I would have the opportunity to play in the first team so early on. But I’ve worked hard and will continue to do so, learning from the best players around - I’m very excited about my future here."

He has become our youngest ever player and youngest ever goalscorer, and been rewarded with the excellent chant "He's only 17, he's better than Roy Keane". He's been quoted as saying that, although he doesn't think he is better than Roy Keane, he loves hearing us sing it. Never mind Man Utd has-beens, some people have been saying that he's better than Vieira, citing Cesc's absence from midfield as the reason for our relative lack of creativity in the last couple of games since Le Skipper has returned from injury. That's going a bit far, I reckon, but there's no question about the lad's talent. Let's hope he does stay. Perhaps Cesc and Djourou as our main midfield pairing in a few years time, feeding Lupoli and Reyes, and the Ashburton Grove stadium loans paid off by not having to buy any new players for a decade. We've got a LOT of classy youngsters.

Where there is a bit of a question, in my mind at least, is over the matter of the pronunciation of "Cesc". Now, I figured that the standard Spanish pronunciation would be "thesk". But I'm wondering if there's a different Catalan way of saying it. The thing is, the proliferation of "The Joy of Cesc" headlines suggests that some people think it sounds rather more like "sex" than "thesk" does. Today it's on GunnerBlog and SoccerNet, the other day The Standard used it as they announced that he'd become the youngest ever winner of their Footballer of the month award (nice article, loaded with good quotes and interesting trivia), but ArsenalShorts claim that they were first. Now, as you know, I like a good punning headline as much as the next man, but does "Cesc" really sound enough like "sex" for all this? (not that I'm averse to joining in, as you may have noticed)

Incidentally, thanks also to ArsenalShorts for working out that WorldSoccer's "Eindhoven matter" was supposed to sound like "mind over matter". There's no shame in not spotting that one, I reckon.

Anyway, if any of our Catalan readers can help on the pronunciation issue I'd be grateful. Cos I want to know whether to try to start a "Cescy motherf**ker, shaking that Arse" chant.

Rupe adds...
The Mirror says that Edu is now desperate to sign a contract extension following "clear the air" talks with Wenger. The midfielder has apparently been reassured that he is part of Wenger's plans, despite the kerfuffle over his trip to Haiti with Brazil a few weeks back.

Rupe adds...
Thanks to Ashley and Sandra who have written from Spain to say that the Spanish pronounce it "Chesk" which to my ear sounds even less like "Sex" than "Thesk" does. Still, I dare say that the "Sesk" version will be the one to take off. After all, plenty of people pronounce "Lauren" the French rather than the Spanish way, and we do all sing "Lehmann" to rhyme with "Seaman"...

Rupe adds...
Now Ashley has changed his mind, saying it's "thesk", but Steve (who I know knows Catalunya) disagrees: apparently it is pronounced "Sesk" after all. This is all very confusing.