Arsenal Close to Signing Monreal
Arsenal have reportedly agreed a fee of £8.5 million with Spanish club Malaga for the purchase of their defender Nacho Monreal.
The 26-year-old left-back has left for London and the Gunners are now hoping to get the deal ratified by the FA before the transfer window shuts close later tonight.
Coach Arsene Wenger lost the services of first-choice left-back Kieran Gibbs to injury on Wednesday in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Emirates Stadium and had to dip in the market on emergency basis.
Arsenal do still have Andre Santos on their books but the Brazilian’s poor form this season means that Wenger decided to bring in reinforcement rather than take a gamble with available options.
But Amorebieta Rejects Emirates Move
Arsenal have failed with a deadline day bid for Athletic Bilbao central defender Fernando Amorebieta.
The Gunners purportedly submitted an offer of around £6million for the 6′ 4″ centre-half, who had been made available for transfer by Los Leones due to his contractual disputes.
However, the offer was rejected after Amorebieta decided that he would like to stay with the Basque club for the remainder of the season.
Gunners Increase Villa Bid But Unlikely to Succeed
Arsenal have upped their bid for Barcelona superstar David Villa, according to the latest reports emerging from Spain. (Independent)
It was previously thought that the Gunners had bid £8 million for the Spain international but speculation is rife that they are now willing to offer up to £12 million for him despite the fact that his current employers have repeatedly declared that they want to keep him.
However, it is highly unlikely that they will be successful in their pursuit of Villa as the Daily Mail claim that the striker was spotted shopping in Spain earlier today, which means that there are no signs of a transfer taking place.
Diame’s Exit Clause Triggered
West Ham United midfielder Mohamed Diame’s much talked about £3.5million exit clause has finally been triggered by an unnamed club, according to the latest round of speculation.
The 25-year-old Senegalese, who is a reported transfer target for Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United, recently expressed his desire to stay with the Hammers but manager Sam Allardyce believes a late bid from a big club could change the player’s stance on the subject.
“Whatever he says to me today might change in an hour’s time. Whatever he says now, if Manchester United ring up in one hour’s time, he’s not going to want to stay is he? So it doesn’t matter what he’s saying now, it change between now and 11 o’clock Thursday night; in the flick of a text, or an email, or a phone call,” the West Ham boss said on Wednesday.
Gibbs Out for Three Weeks
Kieran Gibbs will miss next three weeks of football for Arsenal after he picked up a thigh injury in Wednesday night’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Emirates Stadium.
The 23-year-old left-back will be unavailable for the Gunners’ next two Premier League games as well as the away leg of their Champions League tie with Bayern Munich.
“Of course it’s a blow for us. He is important for us going forward and the game we want to play,” said Arsene Wenger after coming to know of Gibbs’ injury.
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