As John Safran likes to say: “I’ve been, thinkin’…” While Arsenal continue to surprise the pundits who cannot research anything beyond Chelsea and Manchester United, alleged title challengers Liverpool continue to flounder in a Rafa-induced turmoil.

While I’ve always had respect for the institution that is Liverpool, Rafa Benitez has really got that club by the balls, in a terrible way. He’s convinced the majority of their fans that the mess the club finds itself in is not his fault, that he does not have as much money as Arsenal to compete in the league (why is this never pointed out as sheer lunacy, given our stinginess in the market?), that the owners are running amock with the Anfield club.

Well, next time I get to spend £20-odd million a season on some marquee players (Torres, Aquilani), they certainly have always had more spending power than Wenger was willing to part with. The common retort to this is that silly argument about ‘net spending’, ie, profits/losses made on his wheeler-dealing, but it simply doesn’t stand. Rafa has bought far more chaff than he has wheat in the plethora of players signed up.

So what if it does go nipples-up for Liverpool? On the brink of a possible exit from the Champions League, miles behind in the title race and throwing away their one chance of a trophy in the League Cup against Arsenal, it’s looking like a distinct possibility for the Reds of Merseyside.

What, you ask, does any of this have to do with Arsenal?

A fair bit, in a speculative way. Fans’ insecurity over the state of our goalkeeping department has seen many fantasy managers revise their priorities as to which positions we need to restock.

And while Almunia, Mannone and Fabianski don’t fill some with confidence, Pepe Reina has been the one shining light for an otherwise abject Liverpool so far this season. They might be leaking like a sieve at the back, but none of that can be attributed to the keeper, who has made some fantastic saves and kept them in a match many of their players never deserved to be in.

If it really is the end of the road for Liverpool (though I doubt it is), Reina would stand as one hell of a coup for Arsenal. Of course, I’m not spouting a rumour here or anything: it is total conjecture and highly unlikely of ever happening. Besides, when at some angles you look like a Richard Cranium, perhaps it doesn’t help with the club’s marketability factor.

Kroenke nears ‘that’ threshold

Meanwhile, in more serious news, Silent Stan Kroenke has upped his stake in Arsenal to within a whisker of the mandatory takeover threshold.

There’s been a bit of hesitancy kicked about in the media over Kroenke’s growing power at the club, but I think most of that is to do with the financial crisis in America and Britain’s natural angst towards that predicament, the clowns that are running Liverpool and also the debt incurred by the Glazer family on Manchester United.

The shares he’s gathered to inch closer to 30 per cent have been gathered from Chairman Peter Hill-Wood, which means the bloc of power in the boardroom has not grown much against the so-far quiet Alisher Usmanov trolls.

Given the rumours that Kroenke is looking to sell off the St Louis Rams, that may be seen as a sign he’s getting funds to total up the entire bid required to buy out the club.

But at this moment in time, I don’t see the American making a move in that direction just yet. The board have inched close enough to that 50 per cent power margin so as to make Usmanov close to irrelevant (as well as a potential suitor, Nina Bracewell-Smith), giving him time to bring the potential share price from 10,ooo to something like 8,500 after 12 months.

Interesting times ahead. My allegiance is tentatively behind the American, much rather than United fan Usmanov – but in the end, one can never really tell which way these things are going to go.

Liverpool fans, afterall, were rejoicing when their incumbents signed on the dotted line, and look at them now.

In other news, a shout out to whoateallthepies who list Third-Gen (or ‘3rd Gen’ to those in the know) among the top Arsenal blogs – a bit humbling as there’s some excellent company in that list. Furthermore, Fran Merida looks set to sign a new contract with the club to stave off interest from Athletico Madrid, and Arsene Wenger praises Robin van Persie and captain Cesc Fabregas to the hilt.

So what do you think? Would you, hypothetically, welcome Pepe Reina to the club? Your thoughts, comments, and Scousers’ calls to neuter me, in the comments section. For now, bye bye.

Filed under: Arsenal, Blogging, Liverpool, Transfer Rumours