Ian Wright, Tony Adams, Ray Parlour, Nigel Winterburn, Martin Keown, Paul Merson, Alan Smith, Perry Groves, Lee Dixon.

No, its not a list of Arsenal’s 50 greatest footballers, but it certainly reads like one. It is, in fact, a list of the former Arsenal players who have been sounding off in the media about Arsenal, Arsenal players and Arsene Wenger.

At the end of my piece yesterday, I called for people to put aside their misgivings and concerns about Arsenal. “It’s time to start putting [reservations and misgivings] aside,” I said. “…as fans we should not handicap the new season by continuing to dwell on last season.”

And then I read the early editions of some of the British media. “The Sky is Falling!” cries Ian Wright. “The End is Upon Us!” claims Paul Merson. And it occurred to me that I have no right to expect people to put their fear’s aside and think positive. Not when the very legends that people think about when they associate “success” with “Arsenal” are telling them that the worst is on its way.

It hasn’t all been bad of course, Winterburn and Groves, among others, have made positive comments in the media, and even in the negative comments, I have no doubt they were made out of genuine concern for the well-being of the club.

But it is becoming more and more difficult to just be “an Arsenal supporter” without allowing yourself to be lumped into “pro-Arsene & board” or “anti-Arsene & board” categories. Comments like these, from Arsenal legends, only serve to make the line in the sand deeper and wider.

For my own sake, I will continue to think positive and support the club in my own way. I have concerns, just like anyone else, and hopefully at least a few of them will be addressed in the next month or so. For now, I will scroll through pictures of Arsenal returning to training, and eagerly await the Gunner’s preseason. I will allow myself that little “what-could-be” preseason dream, the one where Arsenal claim a quadruple and Cesc Fabregas gives interviews telling Xavi and Messi to come join him in London. We fans need dreams like that.

Nasri still a target for Manchester United

BBC Sport has confirmed that Manchester United are considering Samir Nasri their top remaining target this summer. Although BBC reports that United have tabled a £20m bid for the midfielder, Arsenal have claimed no official bid has been made, just an expression of interest.

It will be interesting to see if Samir makes the trip to Asia with the rest of the squad. The latest rumor is that Cesc is being left out with hamstring injury, so if that’s true, read into it what you will. We shall see what the future holds for those two.

Samir can go if he wishes. At this point, I’m tired of being outraged at this situation and just want players who still think playing for the Cannon is a privilege, not a punishment. Unfortunately for us, the number of start players who fit that description seems to be decreasing at a rapid rate. Wenger appears to even be struggling to attract the top French players lately, a somewhat alarming development.

Like many have said, selling Samir Nasri this summer would be a big loss to the team, but losing him next summer for nothing would be a disaster. The naive dreamer in me hopes that maybe if Nasri stays this summer, we might win a trophy and he’d complete a deal in June. However, Arsene would be daft to let this saga play out that far. And regardless of Nasri claiming trophies are his key motivator, it’s very hard to see how this isn’t about money on some level.