Monday's Football Transfer Rumours: Ryan Babel to Arsenal

All of us make mistakes from time to time – indeed, the Mill has made a career out of it - but for the most part we don't feel the need to make a big song and dance about our errors. Some people choose to cover up with little white lies, others to talk of "set-backs" and "disappointments" rather than acknowledging any actual wrongdoing. There are those, too, who will own up to their errors, before swiftly seeking to change the subject. And then there's Arsène Wenger.

"We watched (Didier) Drogba very carefully when he was at Le Mans and his value was just £100,000," parped Wenger shortly before watching the Chelsea striker knock his side out of the FA Cup on Saturday. Wenger, who has already promised to "one day" tell the story of how he nearly signed Cristiano Ronaldo, apparently decided at the time Drogba wasn't worth that sum. Perhaps he was just trying to distract us from his next lapse in judgment – signing Ryan Babel from Liverpool for £8m.

Manchester City are another team in the market for Big Four cast-offs and after a thorough review of their first-team squad, Sheik Mansour has decided they are just 10 creative midfielders away from having a competitive first XI. Thankfully Joe Cole should be available after Chelsea turned their noses up at his request for a new £100,000 per week deal.

Cole may not be the only one departing Chelsea this summer, either, as Internazionale manager Jose Mourinho ponders whether anyone will notice if he picks up Deco, rather than loanee Ricardo Quaresma when he stops by Stamford Bridge in the summer.

Elsewhere, Manchester United won't be getting their hands on Huracán midfielder Javier Pastore, who doesn't much fancy the competition for first-team places. Rangers, on the other hand, will secure the services of Tottenham full-back Alan Hutton, who doesn't much fancy the competition for etc and so forth.

Heard any transfer speculation of your own? You know where to stick it!