With the imminent return of Sol Campbell to the Arsenal books, it looks as though Arsene Wenger is set to break one of his self-imposed rules, that of re-signing former players.

For many, the sight of a 35 year old defender that decided only six months ago that his future was in League Two will be seen as a step backward, yet how many times have you heard fellow Gooners crying out for an experienced head in our dressing room, or a big, ball-winning centre half? In Gallas and Vermaelen we have one of the Premier League’s finest centre back pairings, don’t be fooled by our goals against column – whilst we do have our defensive shortcomings, they can be far more easily attributed to one, our cavalier style, and two, a calamitous goalkeeper in the form of the hapless Manuel Almunia. Yet the cover for the two players who have been quietly going about challenging Messrs Fabregas, Song and Van Persie for player of the year honours is sparse at best.

With a constant merry-go-round of injuries stretching our squad to the bare bones across every other position, we have been incredibly fortunate that our centre-half duo have managed to play every single minute of our league fixtures this term. An injury to either of them would put our precarious threat to United and Chelsea for the title in serious jeopardy.

For all the experience nine years at Old Trafford may have given Silvestre, the truth is his best days are some distance behind him, and even in those glory years he never consistently secured a starting berth in the centre of their defence – in fact the seasons he did were some of United’s poorest, so in Silvestre we are far from talking about one of the greats. Senderos meanwhile, having enjoyed success and ridicule in equal measure in an Arsenal shirt in the past, looks to have played his last game for us – being left out of even the Carling Cup team makes that a near certainty – and whilst Djourou has consistently shown great promise in Arsenal colours, he will not be appearing for us in 2009/10.

So with this in mind, a man with five senior honours to his name in the red and white of Arsenal, with the respect of Arsene Wenger and seemingly the rest of the Arsenal squad, and a level of dedication and professionalism rarely seen in a player of his age, represents a perfect solution to a short term problem – the need for a third choice centre half until Djourou returns.

Unlike Silvestre, we are talking about one of the most talented defenders of his generation, and a man that was the rock on which a double winning team and an invincible side were built. You can argue that at 35 his lack of pace may let him down, you can argue he has shown psychological weakness in the past, you can argue the last veteran defender we bought has been a unreserved flop – and they’re all valid points. But can you find me a better third choice centre half in the Premier Division than the experience, resilience and might of Big Sol? I think you’ll struggle.

Now… Dennis Bergkamp to step in for Van Persie anyone?

Duh duh duh… Sol’s a gooner…