Ashley Cole has signed a one-year extension to his contract at Arsenal, forcing out endless claims of him being forced out of the club.

As well as the good news about Cole signing for an extra year at Arsenal, Wenger has also admitted he is very interested in buying 16year-old left-back Armand Traore from Monaco.

Do you think Traore will turn into a quality player?
Do you think he will be able to replace the likes of Cole-when he finally does leave?
Wenger has got a nack for buying youngsters and turning them into World-Class players, do you think this will be the same with Traore?
Give your views on the possible signing of Traore to Arsenal.

What about young Gael Clichey - to me he looks class and when Cole and he play on the left Arsenal look damaging down that side with Hery's curving runs!

yes i think Gael Clichy is a very promising player , when he has been in for Cole he has done very well and i would like to see Wenger give him a proper chance this season , dont know enough about Traore really but he must be good to have Wenger interested in him.

Clichy has what it takes to replace Cole and perhaps become better than Ashley in a couple of years. He's certainly better than Cole was at his age.

Traore would probably be backup to Clichy if we sign him.

Asheley Cole may be the best left back in the Prem but he should give Clichey A go I really rate him and could make it as one of the best left backs in Europe

i think Clichy looks like a very good player , who could go on to become an even better player.

Ashley Cole has improved so much over the last couple of seasons, but Clichy should be given a run in the team.

I too believe that Clichy is comparable to Cole. I also find it interesting that Wenger has played Clichy in front of Cole, thus both players being on the pitch at the same time. Let’s not forget the success rate Wenger has for taking players and putting them in not there natural position, but in another where they tend to excel even more. As far as Traore goes, 16 is very young and to say he will or won't be a star at this point is nothing more than a guess.

It's interesting that Justin Hoyte has started the two friendlies in Austria played so far as left back, and been one of the few players to go the full 90 minutes. Cole was fit and played at Weiz (in second half) but Clichy didn't figure (is he injured?).

I have heard of no injury to Clichy, and there is no posting of any on Arsenal's website under the injury tab. Wenger may be using Hoyte to see how he's progressed, and possibly send him out on loan to someone who sees his play so he will get the minutes he won't currently get. Again, Clichy can play in front of the left back so maybe Hoyte is being groomed to deputize for Cole.....Interesting that you brought that up.....

Hoyte played a good game against Ritzing, which I watched on Arsenal TV online (I missed nearly all the game against Weiz - got time wrong!!!!).
He fits into the category that A. Wenger likes - very fast runner and skillful (don't know if you know this, but his aunt won a medal in the Commonwealth games, that's where he gets his speed from).

I wonder if this is another Wenger change-of-position type job. Maybe he wants to keep Hoyte and get some cash for Campbell. After all, Mr W did say a day or two ago he wanted the youngsters to to a good job this coming season. Give Hoyte a bit of a run at left back now, and maybe move him to the centre back position later?
You're the coach. What do you think?

We need to be sure that Hoyte is capable of playing big time center back before Campbell goes anywhere. I'm one that believes Senderos is ready now and should be playing, but if he were to get a knock and not be able to play and Campbell was gone, than to have to bring in Cygan is a chilling thought in itself. This guy play admirable one week, than his next few outings are a total adventure. Don't get me started with Cygan. Anyway, Wenger has said a few times now that he does not plan on getting rid of Sol.

Cole played full game in 3-0 win over Utrecht, Hoyte coming on for last 15-20 minutes, Cole moving to midfield (Hleb substuted).

I'm not sure if you saw the game, but if so can you tell me about the play of Alexander Song who was supposed to start in the midfield? Thanks.....

Sorry about delay, that was just a quick post after watching the game. I thought Song was very good, it was hard to beleive he's only 17. The coverage via Arsenal TV online isn't phenomenal (picture-wise, small screen) but to me, at least, he seemed to fit in well with the team and had plenty of skill, and was full of confidence. Arsene W's making his mind up about the two triallists today (may have already done so, I just refreshed this page after returning to my pc). Christanval came on for Senderos at half time, but didn't have an awful lot to do, but seemed ok in what he did.

Just had a quick look at tge website. AW's interview too soon after game for him to have made his mind up. Report on game there now too. I've not read it, but I suppose it'll same something totally different to what I've said!

thanks for getting back to me about Song....

I've just watched the highlights, with a better picture quality than the live streaming, and now realise how good a 40yd pass that Song threaded through to Henry was. Henry then set up Reyes, but the shot was saved.