Denilson has perhaps already realized that the grass is not always greener away from Emirates, and its taken less time than it usually does. Over the years we have seen players who decide they must move on from Arsenal in the pursuit of bigger and better things.

Usually it doesn’t work out for the better, as Alexander Hleb can confirm. Denilson raised many an eyebrow 2 months ago, when he declared his desire to leave Arsenal to win trophies and stated that the past season had been “the worst of his life.”

Over the past few weeks Denilson has done a 180-degree turn that any politician would be proud of, and now in an interview with Sky Sports he has declared that, despite moving back to his hometown of Sao Paolo, he already misses London and hopes to return to the Gunners next season.

“I miss London, I miss Arsenal,” said Denilson. “I lived there for five years, it’s a long time for me. But I think next season I’ll be back.”

I personally don’t mind him returning in the future, although I have to admit that I would be more than a little surprised if Denilson ever featured in a major way for Arsenal again.

The Brazilian cites wanting to be close to his 3-year-old daughter as the reason he wanted a loan, but again this conflicts with the statement’s he made at the end of last season, when he declared that he would rather move to Germany, Italy or Spain rather than stay in London, with a return to Brazil being a last resort.

I’m not one to say Denilson is using family to save face, but with no quality offers coming in for the midfielder this summer, his sudden paternal urges are timely, to say the least.

I wish Denilson all the best in Sao Paolo and in the future, though I doubt that future includes Arsenal at this point.

And in current squad news, Andrey Arshavin has set his personal target for no less than 15 goals this season, and also expects fans to see a new and improved Gunners squad this coming year.

I think we will get stronger and stronger,” Arshavin told Arsenal’s Official Souvenir Programme.

“In particular I think our work on set-pieces, both attacking and defending, will be better. We’ll also play a pressing game – if we do that well, I’m sure you’ll see an improved team. My own target is simple – I would like to score 15 goals in total.”

For Arshavin, I would like to say that, however many goals he ends up with, what we need most from him is solid performances. No more drifting in-and-out of matches. Andrey needs to have games that are completely positive, rather than looking lost for 80% of his time on the pitch but still conjuring up a moment or two of magic.

If he can start being dangerous for 50-60mins of a match, rather than 5 or 6, then he will be one of the best in the EPL and Arsenal will have a valuable weapon in their fight for silverware. We all remember what you’re capable of Andrey, and so does Liverpool.

As for the improvements that Arshavin believes will be made, improved set-piece are great, but what stuck out to me was him mentioning a pressing style.

To me, the biggest difference in watching Arsenal and Barcelona (I hate using them as the measuring stick, but there it is) is how hard Barcelona fight to win back possession when they lose it. I noticed a definite effort to increase pressure on the ball by Arsenal in their match against Cologne.

At first, I wrote it off, seeing as it was a preseason friendly against a smaller club, but it’s great to hear that this is something that has actually been talked about and worked on. If it can be effectively put into practice in the Premier League, I guess we shall see, but it definitely compliment’s the possession-heavy football that Arsenal strives for.