I have to admit it's a little disappointing, because it's hard to see what more Stokes could have done to prove his potential to Arsene Wenger. I'd been thinking that one of the reasons we didn't need to buy anyone in the transfer window was that we could bring back one of our free-scoring loan strikers - i.e. Stokes or Nicklas Bendtner. But with Stokes leaving and Bendtner picking up a nasty injury at Birmingham City the other day, it seems instead that we'll be persisting with Jeremie Aliadiere if and when we need back-up for Thierry Henry, Robin van Persie, and Emmanuel Adebayor (I'm not ignoring Theo Walcott and Julio Baptista, just recognising that Wenger doesn't seem enormously keen on using them as central strikers).

Perhaps Wenger has noticed, as the Independent have, that only one of the clubs against which Stokes has scored (Celtic) is outside the bottom 6 of the SPL. Still, Aliadiere's played in some crap leagues while out on loan as well, and when did he ever score at that kind of rate?

Speaking of Celtic, their boss Gordon Strachan was also keen on Stokes, and at one point it seemed certain that that's where he'd go. As his father said on Sunday, "Anthony didn't sleep the night after learning that Celtic had an offer accepted. We thought it was a done deal. He loves Celtic and was prepared to accept less money to play for them. When he gets up in the morning he listens to Celtic songs and by the time he goes to bed he's watched Celtic videos."

But instead, this morning Stokes seemed to be on the verge of signing for Charlton Athletic, saying that he was flattered by Strachan's interest, and that of Roy Keane at Sunderland, but he was drawn by the prospect of playing in the Premiership. The Independent suggest, somewhat nastily I thought, that instead it was the money. The Addicks and the Black Cats are said to have offered him nearly twice as much. Why should one accept what his father said about wanting to play for Celtic so much, rather than what the player himself says about furthering his career better by being in the Premiership, or about having been talked around by his countryman Keane? Maybe he did have a sleepless night from the excitement of knowing that Celtic were interested, but maybe in the cold light of day he realised that he was better off in England.

And in the Premiership. Since they're currently only 3 points off the Championship play-off places, Sunderland have a far better chance of giving Stokes Premiership football next season than Charlton do.