Arsenal Team and Transfer News - 13th August 2011

•  Arsenal are demanding a swap deal with Manchester City - wanting Carlos Tevez for Samir Nasri.

Tevez has been trying to get out of Manchester all summer.
And with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger under growing pressure to bring in a top buy, the Gunners have suddenly come up with their shock proposal.
Midfielder Nasri had hoped to sign for City by yesterday lunchtime after being promised a £180,000-a-week deal.
But Arsenal - also on the verge of losing skipper Cesc Fabregas - have blocked the move while they see if they can sort a swap with Tevez.
The Gunners will have to make a cash adjustment in City's favour for the Argie because the club's top scorer is valued at £50million.
The best Arsenal can get for Nasri is £25m as there is only one year remaining on the French star's contract - meaning he could walk for nothing next summer.
However, Arsenal are hoping to get the Tevez fee down by £10m.
And they believe they can come to an agreement over his wages which could be as much as £200,000 a week. 

•  Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is expected to hand Robin van Persie the captaincy today for their clash at Newcastle United.

Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas are still expected to depart in the coming days, leaving Van Persie as the stand-out player in a side that he still expects to challenge even if those players are not replaced.
"Van Persie will be captain tomorrow," he said. "I have not even thought about that [who will be captain this season]. I think there is not a lot more to say about that.
"I can understand your interest about the captaincy but my interest is tomorrow's game. Anything else is speculation."

• Arsene Wenger has been told he should spend as much as he wants of the £35million + other sales equalling £60m recouped from the pending sales of Cesc Fabregas improving his Arsenal squad.

And with Nasri set to move to Manchester City for £23m, it means we are in line for a massive cash injection, says the paper. They quote an Arsenal source: “The manager will be given the majority of the money from those deals, if they go through, to reinvest in the squad. The money’s there if the manager wants to spend it.”
AW still has £20m from his original transfer kitty to spend and the Arsenal board want the Frenchman to sign replacements to match the quality of Fabregas and Nasri.
AW is keen on Lille midfielder Eden Hazard and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, while Everton’s Phil Jagielka remains his No 1 defensive target. Gary Cahill, Chris Samba and Scott Dann are also on his list.

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger feels they've been mistreated by the media this summer.

Wenger has urged fans not to listen to the talking heads writing off his team.
The defiant Frenchman said: "I am not here to judge my own performances, I leave that to other people.
"I am here to give absolutely my best, which I think I do, to show my commitment and loyalty to the club.
"My reaction is I don't listen to what people say. What I want is for our fans to appreciate our team and to support our team.
"The media with us is very negative - if our fans go the way the media want them to go, we have no chance."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits he wants to trim his senior squad.

Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas are still expected to depart in the coming days.
Wenger claims finding replacements was difficult because his squad was too large.
He said: "Do we want to buy? I don't know because at the moment we have too big a squad. We have too many players."

•  Title talk was off the table for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger yesterday.

Champions League qualification is now seen as the most realistic target.
He said: "Liverpool, Tottenham and all these clubs who are out of the top four would like to be in the top four.
"We have not won a trophy but have been consistently in the top four. Our target is to qualify for the Champions League then we will have been in it for 15 years on the trot.
"It is not as easy as it looks. It is true we have not won the championship but we are not the only ones.
"We were very close last year - very, very close. We lacked a little bit of maturity at decisive moments. We played too many games in December and January - 14 games - and it caught up with us in the end.
"And we finished the season badly because of psychological circumstances. We lost the League Cup final in the last minute and went out of the Champions League to Barcelona under special circumstances.
"But champions do not give in, they continue to fight and believe."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits he's been unhappy with the prices quoted for his transfer targets this summer.

Wenger revealed it has been difficult for him to bring in new faces this summer.
He said: "We have a big squad. Some valuations for players are high and I am not the only one working on that.
"The fact that big clubs come to try take our clubs tells you that they are looking as well and they do not find it easy.
"It's not as easy as people think it is."

•  Jack Wilshere has wished his Arsenal teammates the best of luck for tomorrow’s season opener at Newcastle United.

The 19-year old midfielder has been ruled out of the St James’ Park fixture with an ankle injury sustained in the Gunners’ annual Emirates Cup two weeks ago and although he is disappointed not to be there, he has urged his mates to get off to a good start.
"Gutted not to be playing tomorrow but wish all the lads the best of luck!," he posted on his Twitter account. "We need a good start! #gooners.”

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is delighted with their capture of Southampton winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The teen joined from Southampton on Tuesday.
Wenger said: "We know he has exceptional qualities. We were after this boy for a long, long time and we believe in him.
"We also want to build a strong base of local players and we feel he will one of the future big English talents."

•  Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed they're close to signing Deportivo Saprissa whizkid Joel Campbell.

The 19-year-old was in his country's squad for the recent Copa America and the Under-20 World Cup.
The Gunners revealed last night that the transfer is subject to the completion of "formal agreements and processes".
Manager Arsene Wenger said: "Joel Campbell has already shown that he is a player with great ability, and has also performed well on the international stage at a young age.
"We look forward to the formalities of the transfer being completed and working with Joel when he joins us at Arsenal." 

• The agent of Olympique Marseille midfielder Lucho Gonzalez has confirmed the interest of English clubs. 

Arsenal have made an enquiry after the Argentina international.
Federico Simonian said: "I will be in France on Tuesday to discuss the sale.
"I have talked to the clubs concerned and we will decide what is best for the player. At the moment the clubs involved are English, Spanish and Italian."

• Stoke City have made a bid for Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner.

Stoke have also tabled a £7.5million offer for Arsenal striker Bendtner as they prepare for a frantic end to the summer transfer window.
The Denmark international, 23, has been told he can leave the Gunners and Pulis believes the cocky forward can repair his reputation in the Potteries.
Pulis firmed up his interest in Bendtner after failing to persuade Spurs and England striker Crouch to move north from London.
Crouch has no desire to leave White Hart Lane - and his £70,000-a-week wages also presented a massive problem to Stoke’s money-men.

• Arsenal striker Carlos Vela is set to return on-loan to the Spanish Liga.

He was loaned out to Celta Vigo, Salamanca and Osasuna earlier in his career to aid his development and to help get him his work permit.
Last term, he was again farmed out, but this time it was in England to Premier League outfit West Bromwich Albion.
Vela's agent, Eduardo Hernandez, said: "I'm going to fly to London to finalise things with Arsenal.
"We have three teams in Spain that have made offers and we think that playing in Spain would be a good move for Carlos.
"Arsenal are happy for him to go out on loan and we hope to find a solution by next week." 

• Arsenal are ready to cash in on striker Sanchez Watt.

Watt spent last season on-loan at Leeds United.
He has since seen any possible route to the first-team blocked by the arrival of Alex Oxlade-chamberlain from Southampton, while teenage starlet Ryo Miyaichi has also been added to Wenger's squad after being granted a work permit.
Leeds were previously keen on signing Sanchez on a permanent basis, but baulked at an asking price of around £250,000. But they have maintained their interest, and joined a number of Championship clubs in watching him score for Arsenal's reserves in a 7-1 win over Boreham Wood a fortnight ago.