Arsene Wenger has said that he's looking for an experienced defender who can play in the middle or at full-back, and Gallas does all that and is also French and a mate of Thierry Henry's. Wenger has now admitted that he's made a bid, rumoured to be in the region of £5-6million. But he's also said that in moving to a club with a salary structure, from one with none, Gallas would have to take a pay cut. Given that Chelsea haven't accepted the bid, so Arsenal haven't been able to talk to Gallas yet, it would seem that the prospect of signing him is a long long way off.

It's hard to see why Chelsea would be reluctant. We've got a player that wants away and so do they. Why not get on with it and maybe we could all end up happy. Perhaps the difference in valuations is the problem - Gallas is only 5 years older but he's only 29 and a France international with plenty of experience, and Arsenal seem to value Cole at about £20million more. While there are premiums for him being English, Chelsea being loaded, and us not wanting to sell, at least 2 of these are less than 100% reasonable, and the idea of Gallas coming the other way as a small makeweight only serves to highlight this, as does Mourinho's daft but pointed suggestion that we could just do a straight swap. And yet, as we've said before, if Chelsea wanted Ashley so much, why not pay the cash? It's nothing compared to what Abramovich has thrown away over a hundred million on players that haven't made the grade. I'm coming round to the idea that they never wanted Cole at all, they've just been getting a kick out of making trouble for Arsenal. Like Real Madrid in the Jose Antonio Reyes affair... no class.

Speaking of Real, there are further rumours that Arsenal are interested in Jonathan Woodgate (but he's said to prefer to stay in Madrid, and anyway he's surely too injury-prone to be worth considering). More likely perhaps is Illiasu Shilla, the Ghanaian defender who impressed in the World Cup and who had a trial with us pre-season. Going the other way, Genoa are said to want Pascal Cygan, which is a nice thought, but we need to get another centre-back in first.