I'm off

I'm in the sky tonight
There I can keep by your side
Watching the wide world riot
And hiding out
I'll be coming home next year

- Foo Fighters, Next Year

I'm leaving tonight. I'm going off to Europe for six months. It's starting to shit me off. I'm starting to realise that it's a really, really long time and it's a lot of money. But still - it's something I've got to do. I'm going to go mad, otherwise. And there's no need to worry.

I haven't planned anything. I've got three nights accommodation in London, and a couple of Arsenal tickets. Picked up a Lonely Planet a couple of months back, and I've been pawing through that. Other than that, I'll make it up as I go. It's useless to plan for something this long. I might as well give up on the illusion of control.

Arsene Wenger's probably got the same idea. It's useless to plan. You can't prevent the accidents when they happen. Agents will sniff around for disenchanted players. Wages and transfer fees will rise. Sepp Blatter will make strange pronouncements about foreign quotas in a response to FIFA political machinations.

All you can really do is make sure the fundamentals are right - good youth players, a thorough scouting network, a recruiting philosophy based on technique and athleticism. And you've got to have belief that this will tide you over during the lean years, and it'll steer you back towards the years of plenty.

There's no need to worry, because you can't do anything about it. Flamini and Hleb left, but the process continues. We're younger and more callow, but that's okay. There's faith that the next crop will come good. Ramsey, Coquelin, Wilshire - these guys are good enough that they'll take over eventually.

Yes, we could buy a monster in centre-half, Akineef in goal, Villa, Silva and Alonso up the park. And yes, we could challenge for titles straightaway. But there'll be problems associated with those moves as well. Players won't adapt to England, they won't fit into the system, they'll plunge the club in debt. Problems will arise no matter what you do.

Best just to go with the flow and trust that it'll turn good eventually. Yes, you can cater for every contingency and plan everything to the last second, but where's the fun in that?