A couple of tweets yesterday, from Rory Smith of The Times, which I found interesting.

Two thoughts before bed. It's no coincidence Liverpool want £40m for Suarez and Real now want the same for Higuain. A game is afoot.

— Rory Smith (@RorySmithTimes) July 17, 2013

This makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it? If Suarez is ‘worth’ £40m, then Real Madrid have every right to think that, just maybe, £23m is a low price for Higuain. Certainly, Higuain has less baggage and more Champions League experience. £17m is a big difference.

Then, to prove it beyond reasonable doubt, Arsenal went and bid £30m for Suarez. So that proves – to Real Madrid – that a) Arsenal have enough money and b) they can ask for more than £23m for Higuain.

There is a certainly a ‘game afoot’. And Arsenal will need to pay more than £23m if they want to win that game.

The market is inflated – no doubt about that – but that’s the market, right?

It feels to me that £23m is a kind of opening shot in the negotiation – rather than the final offer. Who starts these proceedings with their best offer? Nobody. But where I am slightly baffled is where the Suarez bid then fits into all this. As, perhaps, is everyone.

And the second tweet:

And two: do Arsenal now regret boasting about how much money they'd spend this summer to appease restless fans? Weakens negotiating stance.

— Rory Smith (@RorySmithTimes) July 17, 2013

Well, it does to a point. And it’s interesting because Arsenal used to always be pretty coy about this, but not this summer. It’s a common fact that the club has cash to spend, all the club bigwigs have confirmed it, so in that knowledge of course Real Madrid are going to want more than £23m.

So why be so open about our finances? It could of course – as Tim Payton said in a reply to the above tweet – be to put pressure on the one man who can do something about our cash surplus. Le Boss.

There are undercurrents and politics all over the place. I could do without it to be honest. But at the same time, it’s quite fascinating.