The dailies are getting desperate; FC Twente is in one week’s time and Arsene has not let them have any hints about the new signing he promised so they gone way out into the left field and come up with Mikael Silvestre from United. It would be an unusual signing, not simply from the perspective of someone leaving United to join Arsenal, but that he is thirty-one years of age, a proven winner and vastly experienced.

As far as the player goes, it is mixed emotions. He has very high plus points. Until he was struck down by injury in recent seasons, Silvestre was United’s first choice centre back. Since that time though, he has become shorn of confidence after some high-profile mistakes were made; it would be a question to ask him if he plays under both Wenger and Ferguson which of them is better at rebuilding confidence in a player. His experience would be a massive boost to the defence which despite the potential of Djourou and Song, is something that is missing. It would allow them and Traore on the left to develop at a more ‘natural’ pace. Silvestre would also bring cover to the left without disrupting any central defensive pairing.

Of course, such a player would leave question marks about the futures of others, particularly Senderos. A summer in which rumours about his future have already been fielded, the signing of a centre back who would automatically be considered one of the top three at the club would bring more conjecture on the Swiss International’s career plan. Signing Silvestre would also be a ‘Get Out Of Jail Free‘ card for Arsene in his quest to bring in a central midfielder as it would allow Djourou to battle for the defensive role with Denilson and seemingly, Eboue.

The final plus point is that Silvestre has Champions League experience and is not cup-tied so in that sense his signing fits together. However, question marks must remain about his fitness. He may well have recovered from the injuries that have plagued him in recent times but we have a defence that is well versed with the medical facilities at London Colney so it is questionable as to whether another player of that ‘ilk’ is needed. Countering that is the obvious that a medical ought to satisfy the immediate question of fitness and in any case the purchase of any player is fraught with the risk of injury as we have already seen this summer with Nasri.

There will of course be some who question why we would sign someone who is effectively a United reserve; ‘if he is not good enough to get into their first team then why would he be good enough to get into ours?’ they might argue. The answer to that is the consistency shown by Evra, Ferdinand and Vidic. If they dropped their levels then there is little doubt that Silvestre would get into the side. Forty French caps are not earned lightly which is an indicator of his abilities. If the rumours are true, you would have to say that he would be, on paper, as good a short-term signing as Arsene could make for defensive cover.

Arsene has been on the back foot somewhat this week, first of all defending Emmanuel Adebayor and today it is Theo Walcott’s turn to receive the backing of his manager,

I am not worried. You have to give them time. He is 19 years old. Theo is not yet completely there, but he can make decisions in big games. That will always be his strength. He is a boy who will always make progress, because he is intelligent and he knows where he wants to get and that is why I believe you have to patient with him

There has been some justified criticism of his performances thus far this season but a sense of perspective in that is needed. In Arnhem, he played on the left of midfield which is not his ideal position. Sure he might occupy that ‘channel’ when playing for England Under-21’s but his primary role is as centre forward at that level. The other key issue is that the team has not been firing on anything like all cylinders yet has still won two games, both with clean sheets. In the past, we have seen criticism of them not being able to grind out results when matters on the pitch are not going their way. This season, so far, that has been recitified to a certain extent. You cannot have it both ways.

Still, at least The Guardian has kept up the summer of lacklustre rumours by mentioning Barry, Alonso and Inler in the article. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose indeed.

’til Tomorrow.