Several interesting rumors floating around about Arsenal center-half and goalkeeper targets. Fortunately, Robert Green’s name is not amongst the possible goalkeeping targets:)
The other day I wrote that Arsenal had submitted a formal bid to Fulham for goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. If the Schwarzer deal does not go through then Arsenal are reported to be tracking both Lyon keeper Hugo Lloris and Palermo goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu. Lloris has been voted the best keeper in France for the last two seasons, but it will take a massive bid to get him.
Continuing on the defence, reports in France say that the Gunners have made a formal offer of £8.2m for Lorient’s 24-year old centre-half Laurent Koscielny.This was the second bid that Arsenal had made for Koscielny. Originally Arsenal had offered £6.6m plus the services of midfielder Francis Coquelin on a season-long loan. That offered was turned down and Arsenal returned with a higher cash big.
With Gallas leaving and Campbell not able to play every week, it is reassuring to see that Wenger is addressing Arsenal’s defensive needs. A partnership of the 24-year old Koscielny and the 25-year old Vermaelen could lead Arsenal for the next 5 years.
Arsenal are also said to be preparing a bid for South Africa winger Steven Pienaar. Pienaar is entering the final 12-months of his contract at Everton and could probably be bought for little money.
Wenger had this to say about Pienaar in the Daily Mail this week:
“Pienaar has grown this year. He was usually a very busy player where the final ball was missing a little bit, but this year he has gained in personality and he has kept his work-rate, so he has been much more efficient. What also played a big role in his growth was that Mikel Arteta was not there for a while and that he had to take the responsibility of being the playmaker of the team. He was one of the best players in England this year. He would get into the Arsenal team. I always had an eye on him since he was at Ajax.”
Hopefully some of these transfer stories will turn into new players. But it is encouraging to see that Arsenal are being linked with players in areas that they need help; like center-half and keeper.
From wearearsenalblog.com
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