Having Ole Gunnar back ..."is like a new signing"

After a couple of years lost in the wilderness of injury, 33 year old (!!!!) Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has returned to the Manchester United first team. Gleeful at a popular old hand returning to action, Slur Alex has rather hilariously claimed that (having) "Ole back in action is like a new signing."

Delicious.

So no replacing Long Face and his 25 goals a season, then. I'm sure the United supporters are absolutely delighted about that. We're getting Torres... we're getting Riquelme... we're getting Vieira... we're getting Raul...

Translation... Michael Carrick. Oh the laughter that (for one brief moment) united both the Spurs and Gooner parts of North London over this transfer.

As the cost cutting continues at Old Trafford with the ashes of whole teams of youth players spread across the UK and beyond, United have seriously trimmed their wage bill in the recent 8 months in Keane, Ruud, Howard, Fortune and many many many others leaving the club for pastures elsewhere. As enjoyable as this is for Gooners to discuss ad nauseum, I would rather use their situation as a comparison for dicsussing our own.

Arsenal very clearly do not need to manipulate their supporters' hopes for the club with outrageously exaggerated transfer prices (Fergie DID NOT pay 18.6m for Michael Carrick but it suits both Spurs and United to claim that he did) and the ...like a new signing tripe. With our new stadium and the exploits in the CL last season as well as Wenger's canny dealings in the transfer market over the past 5 or 6 seasons, Arsenal have a very significant transfer budget sitting there... gathering cobwebs...waiting to be used.

While its not fair to claim that Arsenal have made simply one signing this summer as Wenger has brought in Merida, Song and Van Den Berg as well as Rosicky. It is fair to say that the club has added only one player to the immediate first team while losing Campbell, Cole, Bergkamp, Pires and possibly Reyes.

Like most Gooners, I've become very confident in the robustness of the Arsenal youth system to replace members of the first team to the extent that most of us will not be too disappointed to start the season with Clichy, Garry, Traore and Flamini at a pinch at left back.

But a mate of mine said something interesting that made me re-think the current situation Arsenal finds itself in. He noted the statement that selling Cole and Reyes makes about Arsenal Football Club. Given that he's a supporter of United, he knows much about what sales say about clubs... particulary when what is sold IS the club (as well as countless amounts of players). But this business of statement did linger with me particularly as Thierry Henry has alluded to this very issue when talking about Ashley Cole leaving Arsenal.

Given that we are surely chasing Chelsea this year for the league, Henry reckons that selling Ashley Cole to the Blues does seem counter productive to the process.... certainly from a team confidence point of view. This is why I think Wenger should make a statement and bring in a couple of established players before the transfer window closes. But it must be the right statement. We cannot fill imagined gaps in the side with players who will merely jump the queue ahead of the likes of Djourou, Clichy and Van Persie. But there are gaps to fill, particularly if Reyes does move to Madrid.

I would like to see Baptista arrive as part of any Reyes transfer. A powerful forward cum defensive midfielder is truly what the doctor ordered for Arsenal, particularly as Diaby is out until Christmas with injury and Gilberto is nearing the age where Wenger gets edgy about his players. I would truly enjoy going to Bolton or Everton with Baptista displaying more strength, power and class than the opposition. I think Walcott will be playing wing anyway for the Arsenal so we dont necessarily require a like for like replacement for Reyes.

I'd also like to see another defender enter the ranks. Gallas would be an interesting addition... certainly in terms of making a statement. Or Christian Chivu who seems on his way out of Rome. But more practically Arsenal need an injection of English into the side and I would prefer that Micah Richards arrives as an understudy to Toure, Senderos and yes Djourou. Or Curtis Davies. Young proven defenders with most of their careers ahead of them and tremendous upside to their talents.

Richards in particular has immense promise and at 18 has much time to learn the Arsenal style of play... particularly working with Kolo every day.

And I also think its important that Arsenal have at least a few English players in the squad with genuine passion for the sorts of February matches down the Riverside that Jose Antonio Reyes could never quite shine in.

Given that Arsene Wenger himself has noted the importance of buying a defender who can play both centrally and at leftback, lets all hope that someone arrives to fulfil that role rather than Wenger lowering himself to Fergie's level and talking up Pascal Cygan's return from injury as.... like a new signing.

EH