Arsene is set to take advantage of unsettle Bernabeu striker Karim Benzema.

It’s been well documented that Liverpool has placed a left back at the top of their wish list this summer and Liverpool are closing in on Arsenal full back Gael Clichy reports Caught Offside.

Real Madrid boss Joes Mourinho has placed Carlos Tevez at the top of his wish list this summer reports the Mirror.

So as the season comes to an end it’s time to look back at what could be described as a defining season in Southend’s recent history.

In recent years, there has been a perceived tendency in English managers and coaches to stay on home soil rather than ply their trade overseas. True or no, the migration of Steve McClaren to Twente and then Wolfsburg, with varying degrees of success, has been seen as the exception that proves the rule. Several factors have been put forward to explain this supposed phenomenon, not least of all the fact that English clubs pay their staff very handily – Ian Dowie, for instance, earns £300,000 a year as an assistant at Newcastle.

 If ever one has a problem but can’t puzzle out the core issue that needs to be solved there is always the option of asking a national FA for some input. Not because they’ll give you the right answer but precisely because they are so adept at missing the point that whatever course of action they recommend is sure to miss the point. The race row currently engulfing France perfectly typifies this ineptitude. As best their desire to limit the number of opportunities based on the colour of someone’s skin is staggeringly incompetent and at worst indicates serious racism at the French Football Federation (FFF). The suggestion strikes at the very heart of the republic. Had such a policy been installed (which is clearly will not be now) it would undermine the very identity of France as a nation founded on ideals of “Liberte, Egalite and Fraternite”. If the real concern is about a talent drain this harebrained solution completely misses the point.

Blackburn defender Chris Samba was close to joining Arsenal in January and admits his future at Edwood Park is still uncertain, the 27-year old said “Everybody knows that I am an ambitious player.