Well it’s official: Sol’s comeback is unofficial. The mother of all free transfers back in 2001, Sol Campbell is making a slightly less publicized move (this time from lowly Notts County….so then really not that much different a transition than before) this time round, and Arsene Wenger is really making him run the gauntlet to prove his worth. The challenge? Show you’re better than Mikael Silvestre by outplaying a bunch of acne-ridden reserve kids for a couple exhibitions, and THEN I’ll let you into the team. I’ll warm up the jersey-stamper…
But seriously, what starry-eyed Gunner out there wouldn’t concede to catching at least one small drop of nostalgia upon hearing the news? Shucks, I’ll admit I have fond memories of the last time I saw Sol cavorting happily around on the pitch, right after he scored that goal against…..Barcelona….oh. But look on the bright side of things, last time we signed him we went on to win a double the very next season, so the omens are good. I wonder what Monsieur Pires is up to….
Signing a 35 year-old is certainly a strange choice for Wenger, who also commented that we have adequate cover at our currently uncovered defensive midfield position, only to lament that we badly missed Alex Song after seeing our midfield single-handedly outplayed by Fellaini’s afro on Sunday. What all this means for the remainder of the transfer window, therefore, is anyone’s guess, but I’m willing to wager that whoever joins in the next few weeks will, like Sol, probably do so to the tune of under £10. Stingy, yes, but give Arsene credit: at least it’s £10 more than Man U’s got to spend…
