Would Arsenal fans ever take this discontented old-boy back?

Here’s an interesting proposition: Ashley Cole back plying his trade with Arsenal Football Club. Is that as impossible as it sounds? According to Goal, senior Arsenal figures, including Arsene Wenger would not be averse to seeing Cole rejoin his boyhood club and would be prepared to offer him an escape route from Chelsea who appear to be a sinking ship.

Player power has reared its ugly head at Stamford Bridge, where the club’s most experienced players seem to be at loggerheads with their young manager, Andre Villas-Boas. Comments were believed to have been exchanged between Cole and Villas-Boas that led to the Portuguese manager benching the left-back for Chelsea’s midweek clash with Napoli.

This combined with the fact that Cole’s contract will expire in 2013 may lead Andre to quit whilst he’s ahead and sell the English full-back whilst he can still reap a healthy fee. At 31-years-old, he’s probably looking for the last big contract of his career and could perhaps be tempted to see out his time with the club he was a part of as a school boy.

Whilst there’s clearly been a decline in standards when it comes to Ashley Cole, he still remains one of the Premier League’s best and most experienced left-backs.

With this in mind, should Arsenal consider pursuing Ashley this summer?

The Gunners have been without a regular left-back for a good deal of the season, because of injuries to Andre Santos and Kieran Gibbs and Wenger may well feel this is an area he should look at when the transfer window reopens. Kieran Gibbs is an injury-magnet whilst Andre Santos still has a lot to prove.

Wouldn’t it make sense to bring in an experienced left-back on a short term contract (two-three years) to hold the fort whilst Gibbs continues to develop and mature at his own pace? It’s not like Cole would require any time to adjust to the Arsenal style of play. He may even welcome the opportunity to play a free-flowing attacking style of football after a stifling couple of years in a struggling Chelsea side.

The main concerns for Arsenal fans will be undignified way he left the club back in 2005. Cole admitted to being furious at being offered a £55k a week contract from the club and left to seek greater financial rewards in a Chelsea shirt.

But this was 7 years ago. Perhaps it is time to let bygones be bygones? If Chelsea were prepared to let Cole go, I would whole-heartedly endorse his return back to North London.

What’s your take? Would you be prepared to see Ashley Cole back in an Arsenal shirt?

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