Mourinho grows impatient over Cole deal

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has urged Arsenal to make up their minds about the potential transfer of Ashley Cole before the end of the week.

It seems that Mourinho is getting impatient and is prepared to ditch this option if Arsenal continues to play hardball. He is ready to look elsewhere 'in a couple of days' if a transfer fails to materialise soon, as he is determined that Wayne Bridge should have competition at left-back. He said, 'It is in their hands and we have to wait. What can I do? Arsenal has an offer from Chelsea. If they accept, they accept, if they don't accept, they don't. 'If Arsenal decide to sell the player, that is okay. But the player belongs to Arsenal, we cannot do anything about it.'

'We have other options,' he added. 'We are waiting for decisions but we have other options. We cannot play a whole season only with Wayne Bridge. 'If we have no solution about Ashley Cole in a couple of days, we turn the corner and we see other faces. 'Yes there is a space in our squad for another left-back because we only have one real left-back.'

As for William Gallas, he does not seem to be interested in staying at Chelsea after the disparaging treatment from Mourinho but if he has any plans to transfer out, it will not be easy as Mourinho does not expect to part company with him. The French international was not included in the squad that travelled to Holland for tonight's friendly, and did not appear in the United States with the rest of his team-mates last week.

Asked whether his absence from could have any implications on his future, Mourinho said: 'No. 'As you know Gallas had an unbelievable holiday I believe. 'I hope he enjoyed it very much in Guadeloupe, which I think is a fantastic place be to for on holiday, so he wanted to stay there for a long time.

He trained with us yesterday for the first time. He is not in the condition to play.' Mourinho poured cold water on speculation he might add another striker after Hernan Crespo joined Inter Milan. Asked whether we expects his attacking department to change before the new season begins, Mourinho said: 'No. We are just short in the back but we are working on that because we need one more player.'

For all their riches, Soccer Pundit is puzzled by the way Chelsea is shaping up for the new season. They have released Hernan Crespo who has a solid record as a goal-poacher and can offer Mourinho additional options in the event of injuries as well as provide a bit of healthy competition in the frontline.

They are also faced with a situation of starting a new season with only one real left-back in Wayne Bridge. While Bridge is a steady performer, he is not a player who can turn up the magic for Chelsea and it is uncertain if he is able to carry the responsiblity, not to mention to shine in this star-studded Chelsea team.

William Gallas, the lynchpin in their defence for the past season is discontented with his status in the team after the T-shirt saga and even if he is not sold or released, it is doubtful if he will put in the same kind of effort and determination as in the past seasons.

Despite all these troubles, Mourinho is confident that his team will be champions again and has set their sights firmly on the Champions League. He has also cast aside the challenge posed by Liverpool. He can afford to be arrogant with his track record but Soccer Pundit has a feeling that the contest between the top four teams will be much closer this season...