He's maybe not exactly what West Ham need right now, but he'll make a fine addition to most squads. His problem was being a peripheral figure at a club which has, according to it's manager, reached some sort of perfection.

Arseene Wenger has been commenting on the fact that the few English clubs with money can effectively take who they want from the other clubs. Referring to the Woodgate transfer he says "Anybody with money, like Newcastle, can take who they want from 90 percent of the clubs." Arsenal, however, "...don't want to do that, we just want to keep our players and we're happy with what we've got... I have a perfect squad now. We have cover in every position." It's an interesting read.

Noble was due to be released by Arsenal at the end of the season, and has joined West Ham on a short-term deal till the end of the season. He'll be looking to impress Roeder sufficiently to earn a longer contract, and Roeder will be hoping that Noble doesn't impress so much that he's poached by someone else.

West Ham did sign a defender today, 33 year old left-back Rufus Brevett from tomorrow's visitors to Highbury, Fulham. So they've got yet another left-back who Nigel Winterburn has a fair chance of keeping out of the side. Go for it, Nutty!