M’VILA INTERESTED IN ARSENAL SWITCH
“I have heard Arsenal are interested in me,” M’Vila told the Daily Star Sunday. “I like Arsenal and I like the Premier League.
“I don’t know what is happening with the clubs, but yes, I would be interested in the Premier League and Arsenal.”
M’Vila’s France team-mate Olivier Giroud has also been linked with a move to the Gunners but he has insisted talk about his future must wait until after Euro 2012.
The 25-year-old enjoyed a landmark season with Montpellier as they landed the Ligue 1 title and could be available for about £12 million.
Bayern Munich and Borussia Monchengladbach are said to be keen on the striker but this week Montpellier coach Rene Girard said he was on the verge of a move to north London.
“It’s nice that people talk about me but I can’t talk about my future right now,” Giroud said.
ARSENAL LEAD GIROUD CHASE
Montpellier coach Rene Girard has revealed Arsenal are leading the race to sign in-demand striker Olivier Giroud.
A host of clubs are chasing Giroud this summer following his goalscoring exploits for Montpellier last season.
The 25-year-old netted 25 goals last term to help Montpellier to win the French title and his form has alerted several sides across Europe.
Montpellier are reluctant to lose their star striker, but Girard admits the player is likely to move to Arsenal if they can agree a deal with the French champions.
“Arsenal are very interested and Giroud wants to play in England, if Arsene [Wenger] agrees with the president [Louis Nicollin], he will sign for them”, Girard told French radio station RMC.
Giroud is currently with France at Euro 2012 and the player is expected to make a decision on his future after the tournament.
GLADBACH FACE DIFFICULT GIROUD CHASE
He is quoted in Bild as saying: “We remain true to our policy that we do not throw our money out the window. The problem in our negotiations is that we are in competition with clubs like Arsenal and top clubs in Germany.”
ZENIT OPEN TO ARSHAVIN DEAL
Zenit St Petersburg have challenged Andrey Arshavin to prove to the club that they should strike a deal with Arsenal for his permanent signature.
“Everything depends on Arshavin. If Andrey is ready to stay in the team and go on the field as a player, we are ready to discuss it,” said Zenit chief executive Maxim Mitrofanov.
“Arshavin is part of our club but, with all due respect to him, he will only stay in the event that he proves himself useful as an active player. Not as a man making up the numbers.”
ARSENAL RECEIVE €3.5M BID FOR CARLOS VELA
Real Sociedad remain frontrunners to sign Arsenal striker Carlos Vela after the Spanish side’s president flew to London for discussions with Gunners’ officials.
The Mexico international has impressed in San Sebastian this season where he scored six goals in 26 La Liga appearances.
Despite a handful of interest from Premier League and La Liga teams, Vela has his heart set on a permanent move to Sociedad who have already bid €3.5 million (£2.8m) in a prospective deal which includes a 50 per cent sell-on fee.
“He [Carlos] had a great time at Real Sociedad, a great season and would be happy to stay. It is being negotiated [with Arsenal], but we still haven’t heard anything”, revealed Vela’s agent Enrique Nieto.
Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay flew to London earlier in the week where he notified Arsenal officials of their offer, but will be kept waiting on a final decision from the north London giants until after this summer’s European Championships.
Vela, 23, joined Arsene Wenger’s side back in 2005, but has spent a large portion of his time plying his trade for other clubs on loan, including Salamanca, Osasuna and West Brom.
ARSENAL WARY OF RVP DEMANDS
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has admitted the club could lose Robin van Persie if the striker demands excessive wages.
Hill-Wood said in the Sunday Mirror: “He is vital to us and has been an extremely good captain. But if somebody comes along and offers Robin £250,000 a week then I am afraid we cannot compete with that.
“With players, you never know what they are going to do. Some players say they want silverware but when they have the chance to earn extraordinary money that has been pumped into the game, then you just have to hope they will stay because they are happy and loyal where they are.
“There are players like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes at Manchester United who have been loyal to one club, but players like that are few and far between.
“Hopefully we can reach agreement with Robin and ideally he will extend his contract. We have already brought in one new player in Lukas Podolski and I believe we will bring in more. I am confident we will, in fact.
“I just hope that Robin will be with us next season because I genuinely feel we can make a real challenge for the Premier League title. We had an atrocious start to last season but we recovered to finish third, which was a marvellous achievement when you look at the problems that we had with injuries.”
ARSENAL ARE SET TO RESTRUCTURE THEIR WAGE BILL
Arsenal are set to restructure their wage bill to help manager Arsene Wenger land “top talent” in the transfer window, according to club chief executive Ivan Gazidis.
Gazidis confirmed his intention to reshape the club’s salary structure at an Arsenal Supporters Trust meeting and the Gunners are also expected to embark on a summer clear out in a bid to cut £23 million from the wage bill.
Gazidis said: “We have inefficiency of spending in our squad – but we are moving towards as efficient a model as possible.
“Our wage structure has been based around a flatter salary structure – that is part of a team ethos the
manager develops, it’s about interaction between players – not superstars.
“But we have looked at this carefully and we have to make adjustments for top talent. They are earning a lot of money and I don’t think that will slow down. We have to adjust our model.”
The Gunners have already signed a new striker in Lukas Podolski and Gazidis expects others to follow as they look to end a seven year trophy drought at the Emirates.
“That is what this summer is about and that is what we are focused on for next year,” Gazidis said.
“We have a good team, we have a good young core of players and we need everybody involved to have belief so that we can push forward into next year and make a run at the Premier League trophy and for the Champions League.”
VAN PERSIE’S DAD RULES OUT CITY SWITCH
Robin Van Persie’s father, Bob, has dismissed talk his son is set to move to Manchester City, hinting the striker may stay on with Arsenal in the long-term.
“He’d never go to Manchester City as it’s impossible he would play for another Premier League side that wasn’t Arsenal,” Bob van Persie told El Mundo Deportivo.”It would make no sense to go to Barcelona when they’ve already got Leo Messi.”Real Madrid would be a good option, but they are not so much a team as a collection of star names, so he wouldn’t really fit in there either.”
SANTOS: RVP FUTURE UNCERTAIN
“He’s amazing. Besides being a great person, he is also one of my best friends at Arsenal. He is a guy who has given me full support,” Santos told ESPN Brasil.
“He is very intelligent on the pitch. He smashed the Premier League. It helped Arsenal get to where we are, in the Champions League spots, and I have no doubt that he will be one of the stars of Euro 2012.
“He has been at the club eight years and this was his best season. Sometimes, a player is interested in getting to know other teams and of course, playing well, he has attracted interest from many other teams. Of course your mind is affected.
“He is currently fully focused on the Euros and then, after, he can talk about whether he wants to stay with Arsenal.”
CLICHY: LEAVING ARSENAL FOR MANCHESTER CITY WAS DEFINITELY THE RIGHT MOVE
The France international, who started in Les Bleus’ 2-0 win over Ukraine on Friday, won a Premier League winner’s medal in his first season in Manchester.
The 26-year-old started 28 of the 38 league fixtures as a key part in Roberto Mancini’s title-winning squad, and he believes that the move has improved him as a player.
“It’s funny, but I am a vastly different player this year since I moved to City,” Clichy told Sky Sports.
“In my head, it is a turning point in my career. I wanted to see where it could take me. I do not regret it for a moment, as I have gained in self-confidence.
“It has been 10 years that I have played in the Premier League, which is not bad.
“I am champion of England and that is important in the life of a player, one feels stronger.”
Clichy replaced Patrice Evra for Laurent Blanc’s France side for Friday’s win in Donetsk, but knows that there is no guarantee he will feature from the off against Sweden on Tuesday.
“You have to ask the coach [who he will pick],” he added. “All the better if several players can play in this position.
“If each of us plays in that role and we reach the final, we will all be happy I think.
“The coach has maybe his starting XI in his head but he knows that the others can make a difference.”
ARSENAL ACE WALCOTT EAGER TO BUILD ON EUROS GOAL
Arsenal ace Theo Walcott aims to build on his goal scoring performance for England in victory over Sweden.
Playing an active part in a major finals has eluded Walcott until now as he scored as a substitute and then set up the winner for Danny Welbeck in the 3-2 win over Sweden on Friday night.
Walcott said: “To make my first tournament performance in a high-profile match means so much to me.
“It’s been a long time coming and hopefully there will be more to come from me. It certainly whets your appetite.
“It seems only the other day, rather than six years ago, that I was picked to go to the World Cup as a 17-year-old.
“Now to finally play in a major finals is a special moment and one to saviour and remember, not only for me but for my family watching back home. I hope I can build on it.”
‘NEVER IN MY WILDEST DREAMS DID I THINK I WOULD EARN 100 CAPS FOR GERMANY’ – PODOLSKI
Lukas Podolski has spoken of his pride in making his 100th international appearance for Germany at Euro 2012 against Denmark on Sunday.The forward has represented the Nationalelf on 99 occasions since making his senior debut in 2004, and is expected to hit three digits versus the Danes – a feat he has understandably revelled in prior to kick off in Lviv.
“I am proud, that is my initial feeling,” Podolski told Welt. “There is also great joy. It is simply unbelievable that I am soon going to play my 100th national team game.
“I have never in my wildest dreams imagined to play so often for Germany.”When I made my debut in 2004 I thought to myself, ‘cool now I am part of the team’, but I never looked too much into it.
“Then came the second cap and I thought ‘okay I’m here again’. I always waited around for Rudi Voller to call me.
“And then I just started getting more and more call-ups. Then came game 25, 50, 75 and now 100.
”My goal was never to break Lothar Matthaus record of 150 caps. I always said it would be a dream to reach 100 caps.”
”We will so how long I can play still. If I feel well I can play a few more years.”
VAN PERSIE BEMOANS ‘WEAK’ LJUNGBERG
Ljungberg accused Arsenal of lacking ambition in the wake of his move to West Ham, citing the departure of Thierry Henry and van Persie admits his comments were not well received in the Emirates Stadium dressing room.
“If you play nine years at a club like Arsenal you can say some nice words,” he told the News of the World. If you’re coming up with excuses about Thierry’s departure and about promises from the club it’s a bit weak.”
The Dutchman added: “I was disappointed and I know a few others were as well. He had a fantastic period; he was once the best player in England, so come on and say some nice things for this club, which is fantastic.”
WALCOTT SUFFERS HAMSTRING STRAIN
KRAKOW (Reuters) – Winger Theo Walcott suffered a hamstring injury in training and is doubtful for their final Euro 2012 Group D match against Ukraine, manager Roy Hodgson told the BBC on Sunday.
“Unfortunately, he had a slight setback in training today so that’s the major concern for him,” Hodgson said.
“He felt the hamstring that, of course, kept him out for so long at the end of last season and we were slightly concerned when he came to us.
“It was a precaution to take him from the field because he felt a slight tightness there so really whether he is a real contender for a starting position will depend on what the medical people can tell me.”
VAN PERSIE WINS PFA AWARD
Fans vote Arsenal striker player of the year
Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has added to his growing haul of personal plaudits after being voted the Professional Football Association’s fans’ player of the year for 2011-12.
It is the third award won by the Holland international for his prolific form last season, having already landed the PFA players’ and writers’ awards.
Van Persie scored 37 goals in 48 appearances for Arsenal and is now recognised as one of Europe’s top players.
“Robin had an exceptional season and has established himself in the mould of previous top quality Dutch strikers such as Dennis Bergkamp, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Marco van Basten,” said PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor.
“He’s very much in demand and Arsenal fans will be worrying whether Arsenal can get him to stay or whether he will move on to the likes of Manchester City.
“Many of his goals were the best of not just this season, but any season when you think of the quality of some of his volleys.
“He really has been a talisman for Arsenal and as captain has lifted them into qualifying for the Champions League again when all looked lost.”
ARSENAL’S OPENING PREMIER LEAGUE GAME LEAKED
Arsenal will play Sunderland at home in their first Premier League match of the 2012/13 season, according to supporters group REDaction.
Fixtures not officially released until Monday morning, but we can reveal that Arsenal will start the new season at HOME to SUNDERLAND
*This is a collection of Arsenal’s News from various websites and blogs.
