afc Random Transfer Links

[TF S4DK]

Arsenal £1m move for Man City centre-backWENGER'S DUNNE DEALExclusive by David HarrisonARSENAL are weighing up a shock cut-price £1million deal for Manchester City's defensive skipper Richard Dunne.The Republic of Ireland international will be available for that knockdown figure under a FIFA regulation that allows him to buy out the remaining year of his contract.MNewcastle are also interested in signing Dunne but the lure of Champions League football and a £45,000-a-week contract offer from the Gunners could tempt him.Ideally Arsene Wenger would like Dunne's partner Micah Richards but he would not be able to compete with Manchester United, Chelsea or even Tottenham in the race for the £20m-rated England star.But Dunne, who has fallen out with the City hierarchy over his backing for boss Sven Goran Eriksson, represents a value-for-money alternative for Wenger, who is seeking to bolster his faulty central defence.

Arsene Wenger sets sights on Stuttgart striker Mario GomezEXCLUSIVEBy Steve Stammers 11/05/2008Arsenal are set to make a £10million swoop for Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez.Gomez - born in Germany to a Spanish father and German mother - is seen as one of the rising stars in the Bundesliga and has scored 38 goals in 87 games for his club.Although he could be selected by Spain, Gomez opted to play for the country of his birth and has already been capped nine times, scoring on six occasions.At 22, he is the perfect age for recruitment by Arsenal manager Wenger, who prefers to mould players into his way of playing rather than spend big on top players who can be set in his ways.Advertisement"We don't buy superstars," Wenger said earlier this season. "We make them."Gomez certainly has potential and would be the perfect addition to the Gunners' current strike force of Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner.And, with Adebayor demanding a contract review this summer, Gomez could emerge as an exciting replacement for the team's leading marksman.Wenger is also anxious to bolster his defence and has his sights set on Valencia central defender Raul Albiol, who would cost about £7m.The Spaniard has excelled for Valencia in what has been a difficult season for the club and he was checked out last week.Cardiff's exciting 17-year-old Aaron Ramsey is also on the Arsenal boss's wish-list.Wenger admitted ahead of his side's final Premier League game at Sunderland this afternoon that he has a number of targets and he is confident deals will be done before the end of the month.He said: "I know the players I want and I am confident I can get them."

Arsene Wenger to snap up defender Vincent KompanyArsene Wenger is set to reignite his interest in Hamburg's £15million-rated defender Vincent Kompany.The Belgian centre-back had been on the radar of the Arsenal boss prior to his move to the Bundesliga for £5.1million two years ago.Now Wenger believes the 22-year-old star, rated one of the best young defenders in Europe, is ready for the Premier League.Kompany has Champions League experience having played against some of the top teams in Europe during his days at Anderlecht.AdvertisementHe sparked the interest of Chelsea during the reign of Jose Mourinho after impressing against the Blues. But after moving to Hamburg Kompany rejected a move because he didn't want to follow the examples of a string of top players whom he believed had moved to Stamford Bridge only to see their careers stall.Kompany said then: "Chelsea came in for me but I refused although I could have earned double what I had at Anderlecht. I would rather never go to Chelsea than go at a bad moment."Arsenal were were joined by AC Milan in the race to sign goal keeper Heurelho Gomes, who is set to quit Dutch club, PSV Eindhoven in the summer.

[MrJibbles]

We would've had Kompany if he didn't opt for Hamburg. We near enough had him in the bag.The Dunne one was a surprise and he is a very good centrehalf.

[Taurus]

yaya toure linked again

And in a second sensational swoop, Arsenal boss Wenger is trying to prise Kolo Touré's younger brother Yaya away from Barcelona as the Catalan giants regroup following the sacking of Frank Rijkaard.Wenger is hoping Yaya will do what no player has yet managed at Arsenal - fill the boots of Patrick Vieira.Midfielder Yaya - who is 25 on Tuesday - has been identified by Wenger as the man to bring some bite back to his side.Yaya, whose brother is a likely candidate to skipper Arsenal next season, had a trial with the Gunners in 2002 but Wenger decided not to offer him a deal.And two years ago, the player was also linked with a move back to the North London outfit.Now, however, Wenger is ready to make his move and, with Barcelona looking to appoint former star defender Pep Guardiola as boss this summer, a £10m deal is in the offing.

from the sunday people

[gattsu]

imo yaya would be a good signing and im sure kolo could help get him aswell

[Taurus]

but i doubt barca would want to sell him so early

[TF S4DK]

Yaya been one of the bright things in Barcelona season, to me its got no legs, Wenger slipped when he had him here.

[TF S4DK]

Arsenal and Tottenham are believed to be eyeing up a summer swoop for Lille's Jean Makoun.Spurs boss Juande Ramos has been an admirer of the midfielder since his time in charge of Sevilla and could be tempted into a move.Meanwhile, the Gunners are desperate to find a replacement for the Milan-bound Mathieu Flamini and see the Cameroonian as the ideal candidate.Arsenal are rumoured to have already made tentative enquires as to the player's availability and may return with a firm offer.Makoun is not just drawing attention from North London though, with Juventus, Monaco and Marseille also said to be interested.However, with Lille understandably keen to retain the services of the 24-year-old it would take an offer of around 14million euros (£11million) to tempt the Ligue 1 club into a sale.If Arsenal fail to lure Makoun to Emirates Stadium Arsene Wenger is then likely to switch his attention to Sevilla's Seydou Keita.The Mali international revealed at the weekend that a top four club in England has been in contact concerning a close-season transfer, but Spanish giants Barcelona are also keeping close tabs on the situation.

[Buc Nasty]

Have we signed Gouffran?

[Doug]

yh today after school me and my boys saw Toure and his brother Yaya in G.MantellaYaya might sign then??

[Afroman]

Apparantely Yaya said he doesnt like playing in the same team as his bro... I remember this flying about when we wanted him a few years back

[Taurus]

Have we signed Gouffran?

forgot bout him, last year there was talk about how we would move for him this summer hmm...

[MrJibbles]

Jean Makoun's agent actually knows of Arsenal interest.Keita has said there is a club in for him, heard Liverpool was interested.I say Rio Mavuba be a good option if we don't go for Makoun.Gouffran? Nothing new has come up. Not sure what will happen.

[n/a]

makoun is really not that guymaybe we could do something for himbut he reminds me of zakoramavuba boy aint seen him for a bout a yearhad hype as a youngsternot sure if hes dynamic enoughtbh hes a poor mans diarra

[Tom]

Looks like we are heavily linked with Mario Gomez and Hatem Ben Arfa, a striker and a winger/attack midfielder. What's Arsene playing at?

[gattsu]

huhu act like we aint needed a winger for a few seasons now

[Lenny]

Looks like we are heavily linked with Mario Gomez and Hatem Ben Arfa, a striker and a winger/attack midfielder. What's Arsene playing at?

Whats wrong with thatHe's also hinted he'll buy an good in the air CB. But moving on to us buying a striker, i would love if he got one tbhEduardoBenAdebayorRVPEduardo and RVP im not sure about because of one being extremely injury prone and the other suffered that horrific injury so we dont know how he'll be after even though i have faith he'll be fine.Wenger said Wally will stay on the wings until he feels hes ready to move him to the centerThat leaves us with 2 similar strikers in Ade and Ben. Not really a league winning comboWe should really get a GK to but that aint happening smh

[Taurus]

c/s lennyi dont wanna see ade and bendtner upfront together

[TF S4DK]

Wenger's not gonna buy a striker.He believes in Ade, van Persie & Eduardo.He has faith in Walcott, Bendtner & Vela.While Eduardo is injured & wont be back till next year, Wenger already pinned his hopes on van Persie staying fit.Plus should he buy a striker, like a David Villa (which is what you want), he threathens Bendtner's playing time. So he'd rather take the chance on van Persie and should that go pear shape play 5 in midfield.Basically adding the type of striker you lot want, is a headache he dont want.That said if he can pick up someone for say 3m from a far cheap nation, who is second striker-ish then he might.

[Lenny]

Plus should he buy a striker, like a David Villa, he threathens Bendtner's playing time. So he'd rather take the chance on van Persie and should that go pear shape play 5 in midfield.

*sigh*

[TF S4DK]

If Arsène Wenger could have three wishes before Arsenal launch their next title challenge, an injury-free season for Robin van Persie might well be one of them.The Dutch forward has been dogged by injury over the past 16 months with a broken metarsal, knee ligaments and thigh problems all playing their part in restricting Van Persie to just 23 appearances since January 21 last year.The 24-year-old was supposed to be the focal point of Arsenal's attack in the wake of Thierry Henry's departure last summer and lived up to his billing with seven goals in his first 11 games this season. But he was stopped in his tracks by an injury sustained on international duty in October.Emmanuel Adebayor shouldered the attacking burden impressively in Van Persie's absence, scoring 30 goals in all competitions. Nonetheless, at a Q&A with Arsenal shareholders, Wenger expressed his hope and belief that the Dutchman will be fit enough to share the load next season."Robin is unfortunate with injuries at the moment but in my opinion it is nothing more than that," said Wenger."It's true that he has missed many, many games this year. We lost him and Eduardo at the same period and it was really bad luck because Eduardo had come on well too."You always hope that next season Robin will have an injury-free season. He has so much talent so I am very keen to keep him, I trust him and I hope that he will get rid of his injuries."It's simple. For me, Robin van Persie is world class, top, top class."

[gattsu]

hes not gonna stay injury free at all

[Bardissimo]

i see us getting david silva, and richard dunne would be a sick signing i rate him v.highly

[TF S4DK]

Dunne can be clumsy tho, look at his red card at Boro...

[TF S4DK]

Hamburg centre back Vincent Kompany has refused to comment on speculation linking him with a summer move to Arsenal.The Mirror reported on Tuesday morning that the 22-year-old Belgium international would cost The Gunners a cool €19 million (£15.1m) should Arsene Wenger’s outfit want to prise Kompany away from the Nordbank Arena.The player himself has deflected the attention, citing the circumstances of his departure from Anderlecht two years ago for Hamburg as reason to avoid making comment."I have nothing to say," he said in Hamburger Morgenpost. "I am sure that I will not say anything about this, I learned in Anderlecht that it is better [to keep quiet] – otherwise I will regret it."Kompany’s two seasons at the Bundesliga club have been dogged by injury, but despite his reduced appearances he is still widely regarded as a top talent.

[TF S4DK]

Valencia stars David Villa and David Silva have revealed they are prepared to leave El Mestalla this summer if the club accepts bids from chasing clubs.Valencia have endured a nightmare season that has seen two coaches sacked, an early exit from the Champions League, and a near-fatal flirtation with relegation.The likes of Villa and Silva know they cannot play Champions League football at El Mestalla next season, and with the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid hovering – the temptation to move is huge.Villa would be a huge target of all Premier League teams and, having previously stated a desire to play Arsenal’s football – or alongside Liverpool’s Fernando Torres, news of his willingness to move will put Messrs Wenger and Benitez on red alert."The players, we are at the disposal of the club,” Villa was quoted as saying in Marca."If the best thing for the club is to collect money and to transfer, I accept it, and I will do it.“But I am also contented and I will accept whatever the club must do for next season."Valencia’s financial pressures are gathering with a new stadium on the way, and Silva admits he may be forced out of the club too."I am settled in Valencia but, in soccer, you never know what can happen and I am at the disposal of the club.“My future will be what is best for Valencia.”