Boca Juniors hold Arsenal for a draw

Arsenal's endless summer saga of where Samir Nasri and Cesc Fábregas may ply their trade next paused briefly for a home bow against Diego Maradona's old club before Arsène Wenger, yet again, addressed the issue.

Regarding Nasri, who has a year left on his contract and is interesting Manchester City, Wenger informed him for the first time publicly that he should make a decision. "In the next 10 days it has to be clear on that front. If you ask me, do I want to keep him, I say yes. But he needs to be committed to that as well."

Wenger had included Fábregas in his ultimatum of 10 days, but, pressed on this, he softened the stance. "I don't give them 10 days, the transfer period is until 31 August. Ideally, we go into big games in the next two weeks, so in the next two weeks we need to sort our problems out, but there is no specific deadline of one day or 24 hours."

On Friday, Wenger had stated that, despite Fábregas wanting to leave for Barcelona, he would not be allowed to do so for less than Arsenal's valuation, with the Catalan club so far not returning with an improvement on their £27m bid earlier this summer.

Yet Wenger conceded that Nasri, if he does remain beyond September, could walk away next summer for free. Asked how much of a concern this would be, the manager conceded the point. "It's not ideal for us, of course, on the financial side, but, on the sporting side, he is an important player," Wenger said.

Gervinho's performance in a first-half cameo against Boca had suggested he may prove a vital performer this season. Yet, while the 24-year-old has a directness so chronically missing from these parts recently, Arsenal's concession of a two-goal advantage indicated their old problem of defensive brittleness may yet haunt Wenger's men again.

Once more, Fábregas was not included because of a hamstring problem – he is yet to feature this pre-season and may never again do so – while Nasri lined up in his familiar wide-left berth. This was a starting XI that missed Wojciech Szczesny, Alex Song, Bacary Sagna, Theo Walcott and Kieran Gibbs from the strongest Wenger might field.

At its head was Gervinho, the £11m signing from Lille whose first telling contribution was to create Robin van Persie's opener. Peeling away from his central attacking position to the left, Gervinho took possession from a clever Jack Wilshere pass before pinging in a cross that Van Persie smashed home.

After the break, the substitute Aaron Ramsey smacked home Arsenal's second with his first touch, but the Gunners' flakiness then showed. A mistake by Sébastien Squillaci too near goal allowed Juan Riquelme to find Lucas Viatri, who pulled the first one back for the visitors.

Next, Johan Djourou let Pablo Mouche mug him, then slide home beyond Vito Mannone. Wenger claimed he was not concerned by the lapse, but he has some hard thinking to do on a few fronts.

Credits to:
http://www.guardian.co.uk

Great news for the Arsenal Fans!!!!!

Arsene Wenger gave a great news for the Arsenal fans.


Speaking right after his squad landed in Kuala Lumpur for their Far East tour, the Gunners boss:

• Confirmed Nasri will stay at Arsenal next season despite strong interest from both Manchester United and City.

• Insisted he is still trying to convince wantaway skipper Fabregas to snub a move to boyhood club Barcelona.

• Revealed new £11.5million Arsenal star Gervinho has started training at London Colney after completing his move from Lille.

• Admitted both Nicklas Bendtner and Manuel Almunia are on the verge of quitting the Emirates.

The Arsenal boss insisted that Nasri — who has only got one year left on his contract — will stay at the club regardless of whether he extends his deal.

Wenger said: "Will he be at the club this season? I say yes. Will he sign a new contract? I hope yes but I'm not the only one to decide that.


"There is always speculation when a player has only one contract year to go and has not signed a new contract that he might leave the club.

"But Samir Nasri is very happy at the club and is committed to staying at the club."
Speaking about Fabregas' future, Wenger added: "Yes, I am convinced Cesc will stay.
"It is as simple as that. I never speak about what's happening behind closed doors. Cesc loves the club and hopefully we'll manage.
"We know that this story for Barcelona goes on for years now and we have to close that and for ourselves to focus on the season hopefully with Cesc Fabregas.
"It's given too many headlines to newspapers for too much time, I think it's enough."
With Fulham, Borussia Dortmund and Sporting Lisbon interested in Bendtner and Atletico Madrid and Malaga leading the chase for Almunia, Wenger admitted their exits are only a matter of time.
He added: "Both are possible departures, they are talking to other clubs at the moment."
And on new Ivory Coast hitman Gervinho, Wenger said: "He has joined training today at London Colney, he has come back from holiday and signed.
"He had a medical on Thursday but we sent him back home because he has a family with children. It was so he has time to sort things out for two days.
"He came back yesterday and starts his fitness programme in London today. He is officially an Arsenal player now.
"But I decided not to take him on the tour because he has had no training sessions."


Credits to: http://www.goal.com/

Arsenal linked with Wolves striker

It is been reported that Arsenal are linked with Wolves striker Kevin Dolye for a  £12million move to the Emirates.
Kevin Doyle can provide Wenger with very good attacking choices with the likeliness of Robin Van Persie and Gervinho.

Arsenal signs Lille Striker Gervinho for $17.6 Million

Arsenal has signed Ivory Coast striker Gervinho from French club Lille for 11 million pounds ($17.6 million), . Gervinho, who has agreed to a four- year contract worth 60,000 pounds a week, will come to the emirates on July 4 when he returns from vacation.
To the 'Sun' newspaper  he said
“I chose Arsenal because it’s a young group within which I will be able to integrate easily,” the Sun cited Gervinho, 24, as saying. “I could develop more over there. There’s only a few details left to sort out.”

Gervinho is now 99% Arsenal player

Finally we have some good news to wake up to this morning (Friday). 1 July is the official start of the transfer season as players contracts expire on this day. Now Gervinho is virtually 99% an Arsenal player as he has admitted he has chosen to join the Gunners after turning down offers from other clubs.
Gervinho spoke to France Football and he said: “I chose Arsenal because it’s a young group within which I will be able to integrate easily. I could develop more over there. There’s only a few details left to sort out.
“A risk? Not at all. I’m going to Arsenal to play. The best risk to take is to look to score goals and to play a lot.
“In football you have to take risks if you want to win. I’m going to Arsenal to win.”
“I had no hesitation. None. But in a transfer there’s always a period of analysis and negotiations.
“All sides had to be satisfied so that things could develop smoothly.
“I’m going there to play, not to be on the bench. Arsenal love the game. And I love teams that love the game.
“The Premier League is a notch above. It’s maybe the best league in the world. I want to live that sensation.”
Now it is just a matter of working out the formalities with this transfer and hopefully Gervinho will be reporting to pre-season training on 7 July with the rest of the Arsenal team.

Arsenal closing on Gervinho, Alvarez, Cahill

Since May Arsenal have inquired after a whole host of players. This may have been the result of the mistakes that were made last summer where we had a few stone wall targets – when we failed to bring them in we were left reliant on youth or forced into a panic buy. One of these was Sebastian Squillaci. He was well down the lists of center-backs Arsene Wenger wanted, he played like it too, consistently left high and dry with our high defensive line.
Both Cahill and Samba have been targeted this summer along with Phil Jones. Personally I feel that Arsene wanted to give him another year at Blackburn and felt he had to act quickly after realising that was never going to happen. The sum of money offered would have been a new transfer record for Arsenal. Before this, Arsenal had already spoken to Blackburn about Samba – a fee was agreed in principle, £9m rising with add-on’s. An issue arose – I guess it was due to clauses Blackburn agreed to when they signed the player about a percentage of the fee being paid to his previous club – their owners are so naive when it comes to football, they don’t have a clue. Samba still wants the move and Arsenal, rightly, won’t pay above what they offered. I get the feeling later in the summer some sort of compromise will be agreed though.
Arsenal are moving for Cahill though, the suggestion is at least one player will move in the opposite direction. Personally, I would like to see Vela go there for a season on loan, maybe with Lansbury too. I would rather take straight cash for Nicklas Bendtner or keep him – he can be a valuable asset to the club, despite what some sections of the support think.
The fee will be a sizable one but there is money in the bank, it would be a step in the right direction but the defensive problem is one one strictly reduced to the personnel on offer. It runs deeper and that must be sorted when the players report back next week for pre-season training.
A fair amount of time ago Arsene Wenger hinted at the ideal number of center-backs he likes in a squad.. last season we were still one short of that number – it is more than possible that we will see another defender arrive along with Cahill. We will probably have a look at the free agents on offer but it would not be at all surprising to see Samba arrive as I said earlier. Somebody like Bendtner could majorly pad out a deal like that, and Blackburn would have the funds to pay his hefty wages. Could his pride take that, I wonder?
Another, more exotic name, that has been linked with us closely recently is that of Ricky Alvarez. He is a player that nobody really knows much about – some self styled South American football pundits tend to think he is the real deal. If he is then that is great, it could well be the case that he takes up the squad position of somebody like Tomas Rosicky who I don’t expect to be an Arsenal player next season.
Various media sources have the deal at an advanced stage – some claim he has already signed. Apparently we are prepared to meet the fee demanded (from what I am told) and with the player seemingly delighted at the prospect of being an Arsenal player I can’t imagine anything holding it up. Transfers are complicated things though – lets see what occurs.
And Gervinho… did he have a medical yesterday – didn’t he have a medical yesterday? I was told at about 9am yesterday that a player was at Colney for a medical. Many mentioned Gervinho’s name as talk of that spread throughout the day – the suggestion is though that it may even have been Cahill at the training ground. The Gervinho deal is all but done though, it will be announced in due course.
A lot of people in the media – and in the blogosphere – have born the brunt of a lot of frustration at people who are privileged enough to have information that is not readily available. There are bad eggs out there, there are also genuine people. When I pass on information I do so in good faith – in other words I don’t make it up, what would I gain out of it? Website hits? Do me a favour. Why would I put my Samba news on Twitter about 24 hours before writing it up? In football things change rapidly – information can be outdated very quickly. A little understanding would make the online football world a lot more pleasant.
Anyway, that is my say over. I have just written this before a 5am start so I hope it made sense..

New signings to be unveiled on july first week

Arsenal will unveil their new signings by july first week according to the latest reports.
The Gunners are linked with Lille striker Gervinho, Southampton winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, West ham united playmaker Scott Parker, Argentenian Ricardo Alvarez, Blackburn defender Chris Samba and also are involved in a record deal with Valencia's U-21 midfielder Juan Mata.

Formal bid for Gervinho rejected

It had been reported that Arsenal had a bid of around 10.6 million pounds, accepted by Lille. Well, according to Inside Futbol, that bid was rejected which is the reason for the delay in sealing the transfer. Lille want an offer closer to their 15 million pound valuation. The report also states that talks are still ongoing between the two clubs. I honestly don't blame for Lille demanding more money, as Gervinho is one of their star players, has been excellent for the past two seasons, and is highly rated by many. If the report is true, the Gunners need to pay up and hopefully Gervinho will soon become a Gunner.

Lille offer Gervinho new deal in bid to stop Arsenal move

Arsene Wenger looked set to loosen his purse strings with a £12million bid for the Ivory Coast star but the Ligue 1 champions will not be losing their main man without a fight.
Lille general manager Frederic Paquet - who earlier this week revealed talks between the two clubs over the 23-year-old were at an "advanced stage" said: "We are in negotiations with Arsenal over Gervinho.
"We received an offer from London and although our intention is to offer a new contract to our striker we will talk to Arsenal."
Gervinho played an instrumental role in Lille's double-winning campaign, scoring 18 goals and providing 10 assists in all competitions but his exit could help secure the services of the highly coveted Eden Hazard.

It’s Chris Samba or Gary Cahill For Arsenal – Or Is It?

I  It is the general consensus at Arsenal that the team needs a strong, forceful centre back to add to the spine of the team and help them to some much needed trophies. It is also the general feeling among the gossip columns that Arsene Wenger will choose between either Blackburn's Chris Samba, or Bolton's Gary Cahill to fill that gap in his squad. But which one will it be? In truth, both seem increasingly unlikely for various reasons, so lets evaluate why.

Lets start with Chris Samba. At 27 years-old and a good 5 years with Blackburn, Samba has plenty of experience that the Arsenal team is often said to be lacking in. He stands at a towering 6 foot 4 inches, and is a force to be reckoned with defending set pieces, with his large frame able to reach above the attacking opponents to clear the danger. He would slot nicely into the defence alongside the combative Thomas Vermaelen, who was missed terribly last season for Arsenal.

Samba revealed last season that he was close to joining Arsenal in the January transfer market, which shows that Arsenal are clearly interested in the player, which is good news, as it shows Wenger's intent to add experience and power to his defence. However, Arsenal's £10 million bid was not enough to persuade Blackburn part with their captain, but it is thought that £12 million would be the price in which Blackburn would be willing to let Samba go.

Unfortunately for Arsenal, recent transfer events have transpired against them. In fact, it may be arch rivals Manchester United's fault that Arsenal miss out on Samba - not because United are themselves interested in Samba, but because Sir Alex Ferguson has recently stolen Samba's young defensive partner Phil Jones away from Ewood Park. Would Blackburn be willing to let both halves of their defensive backbone leave the club in one transfer window?

That doesn't seem likely unless Arsenal tie up a deal for Samba quickly, as that way, Blackburn will have both the time in the market and the money from the sales of the pair to find some replacements and back-up. Last season Samba and Jones were vital players in the sides survival, and so losing them both would not help the club one bit - the club surely understand this, and however swiftly a deal for Samba could be done would still be very reluctant in letting him go.

Next, and to Gary Cahill. He, like Samba is a strong, fearless defender, and having played in the Premier League since 2004, has the experience needed at Arsenal. At 25 years-old, he has more of a long term future than Samba, and has more time for improvement, though some may argue potential is not what Arsenal need at the moment.

The gossip columns have been all over this story, with Cahill said to be wanted by Manchester City as well as Arsenal, and will cost at least £17 million to match the players release clause in his Bolton contract.

Should I stop there? Wenger probably would want to after hearing £17 million. That amount would be the immediate detractor for Arsenal, whilst being absolutely no obstacle for City. The Daily Mail have come up with a clever little solution of sorts for Wenger, as they claim that Arsenal may offer their young 19 year-old Spanish centre back Ignasi Miquel on loan to Bolton as well as cash to persuade them to part with Cahill.

Of course, a player plus cash deal seems attractive for Bolton, but with Miquel's inexperience in the Premier League, it seems a big risk for them and a young experiment for Arsenal to see how their youth player does at the Reebok. Bolton are no stranger to Arsenal's loans, with a very useful one in Jack Wilshere occurring just two season ago in which the 19 year-old came of age and subsequently broke into the Arsenal first team, but this one may be less attractive.

If it is money Bolton are looking for, then City would win a bidding war with Arsenal immediately. So, if Wenger does make one of these players his priority for the summer, then it looks more likely to be Chris Samba, due simply because he is the cheaper option and it would avoid a huge bidding war with big spender Manchester City. Contrary to some reports then, it will be either Samba or Cahill rather than Samba and Cahill who may join recent £1 million signing Carl Jenkinson at Arsenal.

Tell me what you think!

Gervinho set to join Arsenal by this weekend

Reports from North London claim that Lille’s Gervinho has agreed personal terms with Arsenal all that is pending is a paper to pen approval for a four-year contract. £10.6million is said to be the price that paved way for the deal to be completed.

Gervinho’s peformance last season caught the eyes of top European clubs. He was pivotal in Lille’s Double winning season, scoring 18 goals and making 10 assists. Arsenal move was imminent from the very moment when the French club rejected the bid from PSG a week ago. Gervinho himself  had declared that he wanted a move to England.

The arrival of Gervinho confirms the exit of Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner , who has admitted publicly that he wants to quit Arsenal for  first-team action. This should be a very big signing as Wenger can use Gervinho both as striker and a wing-forward, something which Bendtner was not comfortable with. He will be a readymade piece on Wenger’s 4-2-3-1 formation.