No Joe Cole: Is Wilshere the Future for Arsenal?

There was disappointment for Arsenal fans yesterday as rumours that Joe Cole would choose to join Liverpool on a free transfer were proved correct.

Cole is not a player that Arsenal have a particular need for, I think it's fair to say. He's a creative, attacking player of which Arsenal have plenty. However, there's no denying the class Cole possesses on a football field, and he'd add a lot to any side.

I suppose his signing is a bit of a coup for Liverpool, given that they no longer have Champions League football, and have question marks hanging over the future of their biggest players. His reported £90,000 a week contract at Anfield overcame his desire to stay in London.  This particular transfer saga has come to an end without a new player for Arsenal, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see him pop up with a goal against us on the first day of the season.

I wouldn't say that missing out on Cole leaves Arsenal in need of a new attacking option.  I think we have plenty of good players at that end of the pitch already. Of course, we have young Jack Wilshere looking more and more like a player every time he steps onto a football pitch. I don't want to overreact to his decent performance in the Barnet friendly, but he showed in his time at Bolton that he has something to bring to the table as part of a Premier League team.

In times past, Arsene Wenger has irritated some Arsenal supporters by saying he is reluctant to bring in more experienced players because it "kills" the chances of his youngsters. It is annoying when he is referring to players like Denilson, who don't seem to grasp the repeated chances given to them.

But, there is something to it when you're talking about a player like Jack Wilshere, who we can all see is a brilliant youngster who is worth giving lots of chances to.

I know that Joe Cole and Jack Wilshere are not necessarily the same kind of player, but nevertheless, if Cole had joined the club they would have been competing for a place, and the likelihood is Jack would lose out most times.

As it is, Jack has plenty on his plate to show the manager he should be in the team ahead of some of our other more experienced head. If Cole had been added to the mix, I think Jack's best chance for first team football this season would come through a loan move.

I'm very much against loaning Jack out if we can avoid it.

I think he's developed into a player who is ready for the challenge of playing for Arsenal. I think he's learned everything he can from being at another club, and we'll never know if he can step up and play for Arsenal until he gets his chance.

Aside from a free agent joining another club, the main Arsenal news that emerged yesterday was that  Eduardo  could soon be on his way out of the club. The talk is that Shakhtar have offered £6 million.  There have been one or two suggestions that the bid has been accepted.

Obviously, it's very sad that his career at Arsenal is ending like this. We all wanted him to come back from the injury, overcome it, and get back to the excellent form he was in before it happened. It hasn't happened, and on top of that, there was the ludicrous uproar that surrounded the penalty he won against Celtic. It all seems to have got to him as he seems a shadow of his former self. I just hope wherever he moves onto, he has nothing but success.

A new start is needed, so good luck to him if he does end up going.

There have been one or two more rumblings from the Barcelona camp over Cesc Fabregas, but nothing substantial so we'll leave that alone for this morning.

I will be happy when we get to the end of this transfer window and we get at least a couple of months peace on this subject.

In terms of actual, solid news on incoming signings there is still very little, and by very little, I mean absolutely nothing. Once again, I can only say that I wish the club would get themselves in gear a bit. I know there's over a month to go in this transfer window but running it close to the wire isn't really to our benefit.  Keep your fingers crossed for a bit of concrete news soon.

And with that, it's time for me to go to work. More tomorrow.