Arsenal

[Red_Polo]

Anyone else heard that Wenger is acting as a scout for PSG this season, and has so far put 75mill worth of talent their way ?

Thought that's what i heard on the radio a bit ago.

Doubt it'll make the Arsenal fans any happier if true.

Aside from it being dubious Wenger would want to do this, surely that would breach regulations? You'd hope it would anyway!

[Imy]

Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas on verge of Barcelona move

By Dan Roan
BBC sports news correspondent

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is close to signing for European champions Barcelona for a fee believed to be about £35m.

The transfer, one of the most protracted in Premier League history, is yet to be completed but Arsenal expect it to be done by the weekend.

According to a senior source at the club, all the funds generated by the sale will be reinvested in new players.

The Gunners have been linked with Scott Dann, Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger looks intent on strengthening his defence and reports have suggested centre-backs Dann of Birmingham, Everton's Jagielka and Cahill of Bolton could be targets.

Fabregas, 24, would be unable to feature for Barcelona in the Champions League if he plays a part in Arsenal's match with Udinese on Tuesday, motivating both clubs to complete a deal before that game.

The BBC understands a fee of £30m, plus over £5m of additional performance-related payments, is close to being reached for Fabregas.

It is believed that, if he is sold, the Spaniard will be due £4m in compensation - £1m for each year of his contract he did not complete - but may be prepared to forego that payment in order to facilitate a deal.

Negotiations have been conducted by Barcelona's Vice-President Josep Maria Bartomeu and is believed to be a final take-it-or-leave-it offer, leaving Arsenal having to sell one of the major assets or keep a player who has his heart set on a move.

The transfer fee is significantly less than the £40m that Arsenal had been holding out for and suggests that the Gunners felt they had no choice but to sell a player who wanted to leave.

Fabregas, who has 58 caps for Spain, joined Arsenal from the Catalan giants in 2003 and, since making his name in north London, has been persistently linked with a return to his boyhood club.

Wenger will now turn his attention to keeping Samir Nasri at the club, who has refused to sign a new deal at the Emirates amid speculation of interest from Manchester City.

If the Fabregas deal goes through as expected, he will become Barcelona's second major signing of the summer following their £23m purchase of Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14482418.stm

[Roboklopp]

Citeh fans here are convinced theyre getting Nasri.

[RichC]

On the BBC - think they're both gone to be honest.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14482418.stm

[Shaggy]

£60m to spend, cracking the top 4 is gonna be very tough.

[Roboklopp]

Quite late in the day for rebuilding of that magnitude. Thought Mata was off the agenda now?

[Lee]

£60m to spend, cracking the top 4 is gonna be very tough.

It will be, but I suppose it depends who Wenger buys really. He's spent £13m (?) on Gervinho and a fair amount on Alex Oxlade. I can't see him spending much more as that would go against the norm for Arsenal.

He needs to though.

I still think our best chance to finish top four is by dislodging Arsenal, which will be tough. Will be interesting to see how our new signings do this year. Spurs haven't strengthened (yet) and have actually got weaker during the summer, but I don't think they'll be too far behind either.

Interesting season ahead.

[Roboklopp]

£60m to spend, cracking the top 4 is gonna be very tough.

For us or them? £60m doesnt get you that far nowadays & they'll have to integrate the new signings.

Rather face the Gooners for 4th under these circumstaces.They'll have lost their 2 of their 3 best players & the other (RvP) is injury-prone.

It will still be very tough for us though of course.

[Shaggy]

Well I meant for us but yeah for them too.

[Roboklopp]

Aye Shaggy, Citeh have really upset the apple cart in that respect. Sadly it's coincided with when we were at our most vulnerable cos of the scum that were in charge (although it was Spurs that initially took advantage of our weakness).

[Tee]

I can see them going back for Mata, plus Cahill and Scott Parker.

[Lee]

I can see them going back for Mata, plus Cahill and Scott Parker.

Parker is a good shout and he'd be a good signing for them.

Surprised that he hasn't moved yet - thought he'd be the first 'big' move of the summer.

[anfieldanfield]

Yep, they'll get Cahill, Parker and Mata who will prove good signings.

But losing Fabregas and Nasri....**** me that's going to hurt them...

[PTP]

just posted the below in twitter thread - but more relevent here

On the other hand tho - Arsenal - deary deary me....If the lose Nasri AND Fabregas, plus they've lost clichy and not really replaced - well i don't know where that leaves them - has any major club ever lost 3 key 1st team players in one summer! I'm not talking about ones that have retired etc....but actually losing them.....that'd be the equivelent of us selling Gerrard, Suarez and Johnson this summer....and having only signed young winger from a lower division - plus they were already desperate for a keeper and at least one centre half.....

I'd be pretty worried if i were an arsenal fan. Ramsey struggling with injury again...Van persie injury prone, Wilshere will burn out if he is expected to pick up the burden, defence is a mess and keeper is ****e!

In my eyes they need...

1st choice Keeper

1st choice centre half

1st choice left back

a top centre mid to replace fabregas when he goes

another striker as van persie is injury prone and chamakh and bendtner are ****e.


And they have just over 2 weeks to sort it!


don't care how much potential chamberlain has

Selling Nasri and signing him

Nasri>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Chamberlain

Arsenal should have gone all out for Shay Given - signed Samba, and be in for Cahill/Dann - plus with the money they get from nasri/fabregas they should be looking for a mata type signing, scott parker and then a striker.....

[dww]

Parker is a good shout and he'd be a good signing for them.

Surprised that he hasn't moved yet - thought he'd be the first 'big' move of the summer.

I think his problem (apart from his age) is that he is not good enough at holding position and not really an attacking player. Like Carrick and Barry he would really be best as part of a pairing with a genuine defensive midfielder in my view. The relative scarcity of such players in the PL limits the attractiveness of such players. Song plays a similar role at Arsenal to what Parker does but is more a natural Arsenal player (but with similar weaknesses). Personally I think if they went for him it would be a waste.