"The timing had nothing to do with our schedule of matches, but by announcing the signature of my contract now, the club wants to send a strong message - a message of stability and ambition - before a decision is taken on Monday."

This comes from France Football's England correspondent Philippe Auclair, who grabbed the chance to squeeze a few quiet words out of Le Boss after the press conference at the training ground on Thursday.

It has to be a good move. As things stand, Arsenal's presence in the borough helps to put Islington on the map. They need to understand that this is not just about a big stadium and the ensuing changes to local geography and life. Just as Arsenal are determined not to have to move too far from their home, they are also determined to be going places football-wise. If Arsenal are allowed to stay in Islington, Arsenal can take Islington with them to the top of the world.

Arseweb has been trying not to take sides on the Ashburton Grove decision. But a club is not just a business, and as such it does have roots which should not be torn up. If anyone can come up with another way that the club can stay in this part of London we'd love to hear them. Until then, well, it'll all be decided before long anyway.

Philippe, incidentally, was at the training ground with his editor, to present Patrick Vieira with FF's French Player of the year award. The prestigious award is voted for by the previous 30 winners including Kopa, Desailly, and of course Platini.

It was a close run thing, naturally, with the jury undecided about which Arsenal player to give it to. Patrick just pipped Henry in second, with Bob Pires coming fourth. Third place was some Madrid player with lots of Zs in his name.

Many thanks to Philippe for writing. We look forward to reading his interview with Patrick, which will be in the December 21st edition of France Football.