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MrJibbles

By MrJibbles
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MrJibbles Newbie

MrJibbles

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Arsène Wenger will move next month to bring Andrei Arshavin to Arsenal and he is cautiously optimistic about his chances of success. The Arsenal manager had already said he was "more likely" to strengthen his squad when the mid-season transfer window opened, after Cesc Fábregas's knee injury which will sideline the central midfielder for four months, but he has addressed the subject of the Zenit St Petersburg playmaker for the first time."I don't need to announce a name," Wenger said with a smile when asked by the French television channel Canal Plus about Arshavin, "because when you do that there is 50% less chance of making the signing. But I need a creative midfielder and eventually another midfielder, because we are short."Wenger has seen a clutch of midfielders depart the club in the past 12 months — Lassana Diarra left for Portsmouth last January before moving on to Real Madrid, and Mathieu Flamini, Alex Hleb and Gilberto Silva went in the summer — and although he signed Samir Nasri and Aaron Ramsey his ambitions have been undermined by the injuries to Fábregas, Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky. Walcott is out until the middle of February after shoulder surgery and there are fears that Rosicky will not play again this season because of his long-standing hamstring tendon problem."The transfer window opens [on Thursday] and, although we are not close to signing anyone at the moment, if we do buy I think what we need is maybe someone with a bit of experience," Wenger wrote in his programme notes for the visit of Portsmouthtoday's ."We already have many young players so, if we buy, it will be somebody who is ready to play straight away. A loan deal could also be a possibility."Cesc is a long way from playing again, so are Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott, and these are three creative players that we count on at the start of the season. So what we might need is someone who can create a little spark."http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/de...andrei-arshavin
Make of it what you will, more rumors set to come out thick and fast.
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Frank Furta Newbie

Frank Furta

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ANOTHER BIT ON ARSHAVIN PALAVAArsenal baulk at Arshavin's wage demandsAuthor: Nigel Brown 29 December 2008 - 11:45http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/11835/Arsenal_baulk_at_Arshavins_wage_demands.aspxAccording to media reports in Russia and sources close to Sport.co.uk Arsenal have agreed a fee with Zenit St Petersburg for playmaker Andrei Arshavin. The fee is rumoured to be in the region of £15-20 million, however negotiations have hit a stumbling block following the players wage demands. Arsenal have a strict wage structure at the Emirates in line with their business plan of sustainable development and will not break the structure to sign the Russian maestro. Zenit St Petersburg official Alexei Petrov claimed before that Christmas that Zenit had given their prized asset permission to talk to Arsenal. Petrov said: "We have given Andrei permission to negotiate."The approach Arsene Wenger has taken since Euro 2008 in tracking Arshavin had led Zenit official Dennis Lakhter to label Wenger a cunning fox. Zenit St Petersburg official, Lakhter, said: "Arsene Wenger is a cunning fox. In the morning he says Arshavin will play all the time at his club and during the day he says he doubts the capabilities of Andrei to play three games in a row at the highest level. But this is a tactic to fool the competition. He calls Andrei a Tsar and then tries to deny interest in the player."Arsene Wenger grinned like a Cheshire cat when quizzed on his quest for the midfielder by Canal Plus journalists, a French television channel. Wenger said: "I don't need to announce a name, because when you do that there is 50% less chance of making the signing. But I need a creative midfielder and eventually another midfielder, because we are short."

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Heero Yuy Newbie

Heero Yuy

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2830031487-soccer-barclays-premier-league-fulham-v-west-ham-united-craven.jpgArsenal NEED him.
Either him or his long-lost brother...wheater_280x390_445180a.jpg
:lol:Them 2 >> Gallas and Toure/Djoruuorouruorrru/Silvestre
Not feeling Hangerland or whetever his name is but i've always had time for wheather, said a few months back if he was at a good team he'd be really pushing for england..Wheater and Gallas would work wonders
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MrJibbles Newbie

MrJibbles

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ARSENAL will bid £12million to sign Mikel Arteta as a stand-in for the injured Cesc Fabregas.Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is convinced he can prise the Everton playmaker from Goodison Park.And he has been given the green light by his board to make a firm offer.Cash-strapped Everton will find it hard to resist, despite boss David Moyes’ reluctance to lose his star player.Wenger has earmarked the Spaniard as an ideal replacement for Fabregas, who is out for four months with knee ligament damage.Wenger wants an experienced player who can go straight into his team without needing time to settle in.Arteta is in his fifth season in the Premier League and, crucially, he would be available to play in Arsenal’s Champions League campaign, despite appearing for Everton in the UEFA Cup this season.Wenger has privately conceded his team are too far adrift to win the Premier League, yet he still believes they can triumph in Europe this season.But it is Arteta’s vision, passing and ability to play anywhere across the midfield which has convinced Wenger the Everton ace is the closest thing to Fabregas.And Arteta, 26, would prove a valuable long-term addition to Arsenal’s inexperienced young squad rather than just an understudy for his fellow Spaniard.Wenger did consider making another move for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso after failing with a £15m bid in August.But he knows he does not stand a chance of persuading Rafa Benitez to sell — and believes Arteta is a more realistic target.Moyes will have little cash to spend in the transfer window unless he sells first.And the ambitious Arteta would welcome the chance to move to the Emirates after growing frustrated by Everton’s inability to break into the big time.Despite committing himself to a contract to 2012, Arteta believes his lack of Champions League experience has been behind his failure to break into the Spanish national squad.Selling Arteta would be a huge gamble by Everton. Yet the club is well stocked for midfielders but desperately short of strikers.And his sale would free funds to sign Brazil hitman Wagner Love from CSKA Moscow. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport...icle2081197.ece
ARSENE WENGER is weighing up a £10million swoop for Dynamo Kiev star Pape Diakhate.The Senegal centre-half excelled against Arsenal in the clubs’ Champions League meetings.But the Gunners could face strong competition from Manchester City, while Portsmouth boss Tony Adams has also been linked with the defender.Arsenal boss Wenger wants to bolster his backline and is certain to move for Diakhate if either under-fire William Gallas or wantaway Kolo Toure leave during the transfer window.Diakhate, 24, is a Senegal international but holds a French passport after playing several years with Nancy.He has been with Dynamo Kiev since last season and is regarded as one of the best centre-halves in the Champions League this season.Gallas has come under fire for some poor performances and his public outburst against his team-mates last month.Toure is also understood to be unsettled at the Emirates and City boss Mark Hughes has been tipped to make a £10m swoop for the Ivory Coast star. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport...icle2081347.ece
Arsenal's pursuit of a creative midfielder to reignite their title challenge has prompted Arsène Wenger to target the Everton playmaker Mikel Arteta, with the Frenchman prepared to break with tradition and spend a considerable fee on a more experienced player during the transfer window.Wenger has seen his side slip out of contention at the top of the Premier League — they trail Liverpool by 10 points — and battling with Aston Villa to retain a place in the Champions League positions. The loss of Cesc Fábregas to medial-ligament damage has further reduced his options, with the club having seen a clutch of midfielders — Mathieu Flamini, Gilberto Silva, Lassana Diarra and Alexandr Hleb — leave in the past 12 months.Add the persistent injury problems which have sidelined Tomas Rosicky and Wenger admitted at the weekend that he is seeking "a creative midfielder, and eventually another midfielder, because we are short". Andrei Arshavin, who has made no secret of his desire to move to the Premier League or Serie A, remains a target, though Wenger has been impressed with Arteta's influence and invention and may test Everton's resolve to retain the former Paris St-Germain and Rangers player.Everton paid Real Sociedad some £2m for Arteta after he impressed during a six-month loan spell at Goodison in 2005 and he quickly established himself. He signed an improved five-year contract at the club in the summer of 2007 and, having undergone surgery on a stomach problem which had hampered him towards the end of last season, he is returning to his best. Everton have risen to sixth, with Arteta scoring two in Sunday's 3–0 win over Sunderland.Moyes and his chairman, Bill Kenwright, have stressed that they will be dismissive of interest in their players in the transfer window. "None of our players is for sale," said Kenwright this week in the wake of potential interest from Manchester City in Arteta and Joleon Lescott. Yet Arsenal could test that resolve and would be prepared to pay up to £12m for an experienced creative midfielder who will improve their squad and, potentially, be able to work effectively alongside his compatriot Fábregas when the Spaniard returns to full fitness.Any successful move for Arteta would probably require the midfielder to agitate for a transfer — he has consistently indicated he is content on Merseyside in recent times — but the lure of Champions League football and, consequently, a higher profile with which finally to claim international recognition, having featured earlier for the Under-21s, would be enticing. The 26-year-old is in the highest bracket of earners at Goodison, though Arsenal would improve his wages and, ultimately, he may end up a more viable option for Wenger to pursue than Arshavin.The Russian is hugely talented and available, though his club, Zenit St Petersburg, are understood to be seeking a fee of around £20m for a 27-year-old who has no experience of English football. Arsenal would be reluctant to match that valuation. There has been interest expressed in Arshavin from Italian clubs, including Udinese, as well as a possible suitor in Spain, and he is expected to move next month, though he would be cup-tied in the Champions League having featured for Zenit in the competition this season.Arteta has played in the Uefa Cup for Everton but would be eligible should Arsenal prise him from Goodison Park. Wenger, who has also lost Theo Walcott to a long-term injury, is seeking "someone who can create a little spark" and, beyond a creative player, would ideally like to add further to his midfield options, potentially with another loan arrival. Yet he is also intent on ensuring that the development of younger players such as Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere is not stunted by the arrival of too many older heads.http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/de...al-mikel-arteta
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