ANY prospect of Ashley Cole pulling on an Arsenal shirt again appeared to be destroyed last month after the full report on the Chelsea “tapping-up” saga was published. The England defender said that he felt “betrayed” by Arsenal, attacked the dressing-room spirit at Highbury and criticised David Dein, the Arsenal vice-chairman, yet by yesterday he had patched things up to extend his contract by one season, until 2008.

The deal represents a neat compromise for both parties. Cole will nearly treble his wage to £70,000 a week, but the extra year on his contract provides Arsenal with some bargaining power to prise a lofty fee for him next summer, mostly probably from Real Madrid, whose Brazil left back, Roberto Carlos, will be 33 and may need replacing.

Arsenal, who wanted their player to sign a longer contract, are unwilling to sell Cole, 24, to another Barclays Premiership club and few foreign clubs are able to meet their valuation of about £20 million. Real have other priorities this summer and Barcelona and Juventus, also said to be interested, do not have the money to buy him.

None of the parties would comment on whether there was a buyout cause in the contract or a gentlemen’s agreement that he can leave next summer. “Everyone at Arsenal is looking forward to Ashley being an integral part of the club’s challenge for honours in the forthcoming seasons,” a club statement said.

The deal does not represent a dramatic change of heart from Cole, who still feels that he has been badly treated by the club in earlier contract negotiations, when he believed that he had secured a pay rise to £60,000 a week but was then shocked to learn that Arsenal were offering £55,000, though he is unlikely to let that influence his performances this season.

How supporters react is another matter. It has been said that his “love has gone” for the club he joined as a teenager, progressing through the ranks to play for England. Had he really wanted to commit his future to Arsenal, he would have agreed a similar length of contract to José Antonio Reyes, the forward who signed a six-year deal on Friday. “I am now looking forward to another successful season,” Cole said. “We are all determined to regain the Premiership and title and I can’t wait for the season to start now.”

Arsenal appeared to be preparing for Cole’s departure by securing the services of Gaël Clichy, his understudy, until 2010, and signing Armand Traoré, a 17-year-old left back from AS Monaco, recently.

Cole has appealed against the verdict of the FA Premier League’s disciplinary commission, which found him guilty of making an illegal approach to another club and fined him £100,000 after he met José Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, and Peter Kenyon, the Chelsea chief executive, in an hotel in January. The appeal is scheduled to be heard next month.

Arsenal believe that they have reached an agreement to sign Julio Baptista for €22 million (about £15 million), but Seville want a replacement for the Brazil forward before the deal is announced. The transfer took a twist yesterday when José Maria del Nido, the unpredictable Seville president, claimed that Tottenham Hotspur had made a counter bid for Baptista.

Seville are hoping to sign Javier Saviola, the Barcelona forward who has attracted interest from Aston Villa.

Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, is considering an approach for Dean Kiely, the Charlton Athletic goalkeeper, to provide cover after Manuel Almunia suffered a finger injury during training. It leaves Jens Lehmann as Arsenal’s only senior goalkeeper, but the German is suspended for the first two matches of their Champions League campaign.

Sebastian Svard, the midfield player, left Arsenal yesterday to join Vitória Guimarães, in Portugal.

Explore Football

• Premier League

• Football League

• Scotland

• European Football

• International Football

• TheGame

• Live Match Tracker

• The Fink Tank

• Fantasy Football