Wenger still keen to bring Benzema to Arsenal

Cesc Fabregas is on the verge of leaving and Samir Nasri could be a Manchester City player before long. So who is Arsene Wenger going to bring in before the transfer deadline?

All summer we have been linked with players but there is a fresh round of speculative yarns in the papers this morning with the obvious names being bandied around as reporters write stories about AW splashing the cash in the wake of the double departure.

Yes, Cahill, Jagielka, Samba and Mata are all on the radar and the Guardian says that Karim Benzema at Real Madrid is still an option for AW. The Mail says Arsenal have expressed an interest in FC Twente striker Bryan Ruiz.

The paper adds that the Costa Rica international revealed at the weekend that T******** had sounded out his agent but that AW, who is in negotiations to sign Ruiz’s 19-year-old international teammate Joel Campbell, is also understood to have asked to be kept informed of developments. Other papers carry the tale that we are set to make a move for Wigan forward Hugo Rodallega.

I am going to struggle to listen to Gary Neville in his role as a pundit on Sky next season and await with bated breath for the moment he is forced to critically analayse a United defeat. I’m not so sure he can do it.

Anyway, the reason I brought him up is that he has had his say on the Arsenal in the papers this morning. He told the Indy:  ”I can understand Arsenal fans wondering [what's going on] – fans are impatient. They need trophies but I wouldn’t begin to even think about losing Arsène Wenger. They wouldn’t have done any better under any other manager.

“Wenger is there for the long haul. He is still doing an excellent job and that’s why he remains in the job. They are two to three players away from making that extra step. They have been close and then faded away. They need to hang on to the players they have got or invest in new ones but never underestimate what the manager can achieve with players.

“People are too quick to jump on the bandwagon. Nobody else could have achieved what he has achieved and playing the quality he has. He should not be under pressure. As a club, they believe in the long term.”

As fans we believe in the this season.

CARL ELDRIDGE – follow me on Twitter @eldomedia