Transfer Roundup: June 10th

Stevan Jovetic

One of Arsenal’s main transfer targets Stevan Jovetic has expressed his desire to join Italian champions Juventus, dealing the North London club a blow in their hunt for a striker.

Arsenal were prepared to start the bidding for the Fiorentina player at £25million, but Jovetic has publicly stated that he wants to stay in Italy and play for Juventus.

“Juve have been after me for a year, and they say they want me and that I’m a top target. Who wouldn’t be flattered by that? I want to move there so I can grow” the player said.

Although this does look like a big blow to Arsenal’s transfer hopes, Juventus also have interest in another of the Gunner’ transfer targets, Gonzalo Higuain.

Juve officials apparently met with Real Madrid yesterday to discuss a move for the Argentinian, but with Jovetic going on record saying he wants a move to Juventus the Italian champions may favour a move for a younger player who knows the league.

If Juventus are successful in their pursuit for Stevan Jovetic, Arsenal will be in pole position to sign the Madrid man.

Nicklas Bendtner

Arsenal flop and self confessed “best striker in the world” Nicklas Bendtner is close to a move away from the Emirates, according to the player himself.

The Danish international, who has one year left on his contract with Arsenal, has told the press that he has been holding talks with ‘five or six’ clubs over a permanent transfer.

Previously unable to secure a permanent deal away from North London, Bendtner spent a season on-loan to Sunderland and last season at Juventus, he was unimpressive at both clubs.

Bendtner said: ‘I am talking with five or six clubs at the moment over a permanent transfer,

‘Things are agreed with Arsenal and I will decide which club I sign for in the next two weeks.’

Unlikely to command a high transfer fee, Bendtner will likely attract an offer around the £3-5million mark, with Arsenal willing to accept any offer.

Theo Walcott

Arsenal’s star forward Theo Walcott is a surprise transfer target for new Napoli manager Rafa Benitez.

Napoli sold winger Ezequiel Lavezzi to Paris Saint-Germain last summer and are unlikely to keep hold of their talismanic striker Edinson Cavani following interest from Manchester City and Chelsea.

The cash gained from selling Cavani will go towards a £23million bid which will attempt to tempt England star Walcott into trading North London for Southern Italy.

Following a widely publicised transfer saga last year, the 24-year-old has recently signed a bumper deal which makes him one of Arsenal’s best paid players and Arsene Wenger is thought to be unlikely to sell a man he spent so long chasing to pen a new contract.

Nicolas Gaitain

Benfica’s playmaker Nicolas Gaitain is the latest player in Europe to be linked with Arsenal this summer, in what is now becoming a seemingly endless list of rumours.

The 25-year-old helped Benfica reach the Europa League final and second in the Portuguese league last season and has previously been linked with Manchester United.

Benfica are very reluctant to sell their star midfielder unless his £40million release clause is triggered, something that Arsenal are very unlikely to do, despite assurances that there is more money available to the club than ever before.

Transfer Target: Gonzalo Higuaín

Scouting Profile

Name: Gonzalo Higuaín
Age: 25
Nationality: Argentinian
Position: Striker/ Centre Forward
Current Team: Real Madrid

Scouting Report

Gonzalo Higuaín has been linked with Arsenal for the last few months and rumours continue to gather pace with every day, particularly following the alleged cooling of interest in Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic.

Last season for Real Madrid the Argentinian netted 17 times in 37 appearances, this was despite Jose Mourinho preferring to use Karim Benzema.

Higuaín still managed to score more goals than the highly rated Frenchman, scoring five more times in two less appearances.

Unsettled at Real Madrid, Higuaín has his heart set on a move away and he is exactly what Arsenal need – a powerful striker who excels in his finishing and dribbling abilities.

Higuaín is noted for his dangerous counter attack threat and is often caught offside, however, when not caught offside the player’s skillful finishing is enough to trouble any goalkeeper.

Another asset which adds to his threat on the counter is his acceleration and speed, Higuain is no slouch and would capably support blistering runs from lighting fast Theo Walcott.

His speed and deadly finishing would be a great compliment to the aerial talents of target man Olivier Giroud, and although in the current formation Arsene Wenger insists on, the two players provide interesting options for the manager.

In the same way as Arsenal’s signings last summer, Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski, Higuaín is not afraid to shoot from distance and will look to shoot from range if the opportunity arises.

As well as being a complete striker with an eye for goal, Higuaín is not greedy and is more than willing to pass to his teammates if they have a better chance to score, racking up seven assists in the last campaign.

Rarely fouled and sparingly dispossessed the striker has the ability to hold onto the ball until he can pass it onto another player or fire a rocket at the goal.

Final Thoughts

Gonzalo Higuaín is exactly what Arsenal need. A potent, fast, proven striker who has experience in a top European league as well as the Champions League.

His goalscoring record says it all, Higuaín is a quality player and would walk straight into Arsenal’s first team and provide an incentive for Giroud, who has publicly stated he will welcome competition, to up his game in the coming season.

The only trouble is a player of this calibre attracts other clubs, and big clubs at that. Juventus are rumoured to be very interested in the Argentinian’s services and have been for quite some time.

But with the Italian Champions having signed Fernando Llorente and media indicating that a deal for Stevan Jovetic is close, as well as rumoured interest in Carlos Tevez, Higuaín may be destined for Arsenal.

His father met with Arsene Wenger in London recently and talk were said to be very productive, so we will have to wait and see, but things do look very positive right now.

Transfer Roundup: June 9th

Gonzalo Higuain, Ilkay Gundogan and Lars Bender

The Daily Mirror reported yesterday that Arsenal were planning three bids that would smash the clubs current transfer record.

Gonzalo Higuain, who has been subject to intense rumours surrounding Arsenal in the past few weeks, is one of the players mentioned by the newspaper and would be the player Arsene Wenger hopes to lead his team attack next season.

Higuain scored 16 goals last season, the second most of any Real Madrid players behind Ronaldo, and has undeniable scoring talent which Arsenal fans are craving for, following a mixed response to Olivier Giroud.

Another to be linked by the paper was Ilkay Gundogan, the scorer of Borussia Dortmund’s penalty equaliser in this year’s Champions League final and a key piece in Dortmund’s midfield.

The Germany international would cost around the £20 million mark, but following the departure of Dortmund’s Gotze the Bundesliga runners-up would be very reluctant to sell one of their stars.

If a bid for Gundogan fails, another defensive midfielder is on the North London clubs radar, for £20 million rated Lars Bender of Bayer Leverkusen.

Bender, praised for his hard tackling and concentration in matches, has been linked with Arsenal for a while now and it is thought that Wenger is very keen on bringing in the player to strengthen his midfield and defence.

Would these three signings be considered a successful summer? Add a tough centre back to the aforementioned trio and Arsenal would surely have the tool to challenge for a title.

Gervinho

Arsenal’s highly erratic Ivory Coast winger has struggled to settle at the North London club and is now starting to attract interest from various clubs.

Galatasaray are prepared to lodge a £12 million bid for the player in a hope to link the player up with fellow compatriots Didier Drogba and Emmanuel Eboue.

Signed in 2011 for £10.8 million, Wenger is ready to cash in on what has been a failed endeavour for the ex-Lille player, despite having his best year in an Arsenal shirt with seven goals in total.

It is thought that any funds acquired from the sale of Gervinho would go straight into Arsenal’s transfer kitty to spend on bringing in transfer targets.

The question is, does Arsenal promote another winger from within, such as Gnabry? Or does the club seek out a replacement on the transfer market?

Cesc Fabregas

The Fabregas transfer saga continues to rage on and this time it is Manchester United who have been dealt a crushing blow in their pursuit of the ex-Arsenal favourite.

It has reportedly been said that: “Like Thierry Henry, Fabregas has always said he would never play for any other English club.”

More light is being shed on United’s £40 million bid for the Barcelona player and their bid was only in response to Arsenal’s interest in Wayne Rooney.

Arsenal are clearly in pole position to bring Fabregas back to England considering the players’ personal relationship with Arsenal and also the transfer clauses Arsenal implemented into his contract.

Many Twitter “in the knows” are pointing to a big announcement from Arsenal next week and many are speculating that it may be related to Fabregas, so keep an eye out.

Transfer Target: Clement Grenier

Scouting Profile

Name: Clement Grenier
Age: 22 (07/01/1991)
Nationality: French
Position: Attacking Midfield
Current Team: Olympique Lyon

Scouting Report

Arsenal certainly need to bring in players to bolster a fragile defence and blunt attacking core, but an area which needs little work, other than the addition of a defensively minded player, is the midfield.

Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s newly crowned Player of the Season Santi Cazorla make up a strong and highly creative group of midfielders.

This has not stopped Arsenal being linked with Cesc Fabregas and Clement Grenier in recent weeks, two players who are not known for their defensive qualities.

22-year-old Grenier was close to a move to Nice last season, thankfully for both Lyon and Grenier the deal broke down and the French midfielder cemented his place in Lyon’s first team and as one of their most important players.

Injuries to Yoann Gourcuff, Lyon’s version of Arsenal’s infinitely injured Abou Diaby, allowed Grenier to flourish in Ligue 1 and the Europa League, ending the season with a call up to the French national team.

In Ligue 1 last year Grenier scored seven goals and assisted a further six times, add to that another three assists in the Europa league and it gives an indicator of how creative the young Frenchman is.

His high amount of goals scored and assisted is thanks to his high amounts of shots per game (SPG), 1.6, and his consistency of key passes per game, also 1.6. Compared to fellow Lyon players, he ranks fourth behind two strikers and a winger for SPG and second in terms of key passes.

His high amount of shots puts him in the same range as Arsenal’s Lukas Podolski (1.6 shots per game) and ranks between Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey in terms of key passes (1.9 and 1.3 respectively).

Of course, the calibre of player in Ligue 1 is not the same standard of the Premier League, but the statistics point to Grenier being a promising creative and attacking player.

One point of concern is his passing in general, with a pass success rate of 74% this is not an area where he excels and may require some work to fit into the fluent passing style which Arsene Wenger’s side plays.

That said, Grenier’s main selling point is his stunning ability at taking set-pieces, particularly direct free kicks and would easily become Arsenal’s first choice at free kicks if he were to make the switch.

Arsene Wenger compared Grenier to Samir Nasri a key member of Arsenal’s team before controversially making a switch to Manchester City in 2011, despite rubbing Arsenal fans the wrong way, Nasri is a quality player and the comparison is certainly a glowing compliment.

Final Thoughts

Clement Grenier is a talented, young, French player and fits the Arsenal philosophy down to the ground, however, the shifting financial firepower of the Gunners means that fans now demand established marquee additions to the squad. Grenier is not this.

He is heavily hinted at an imminent move to North London, telling a French media outlet: “”I have more or less made a decision about which club I want to join,”

“I have made the choice for sporting reasons above all. Arsenal? It could well be them.”

Grenier would be a solid signing as well as undoubtedly strengthening a side that has been ravaged by injuries in recent seasons, and as a second half substitute Grenier’s creative flair and confident shooting could make the difference when pushing for a win.

He has accepted that a move to a bigger club means there is fierce competition for places, and his hunger for success and professional attitude certainly fits the profile of player Arsenal should be signing.

Rated at around the £7 million mark, a future France international, free kick ace and potential midfield master would be an absolute steal for that price, however fans are craving a Fabregas, Rooney or Fellaini, and not yet another French youngster.

(All statistics from the brilliant http://www.WhoScored.com)

 

Transfer Roundup: 8th June

Gonzalo Higuain

It is no secret that Arsenal are in need of reinforcements up front and Real Madrid’s wantaway striker Gonzalo Higuain has been identified as a top target by the Gunners.

Florentino Perez, Real Madrid’s president, has vocally stated that Higuain is no longer needed at the Bernabéu and will be sold this summer.

The Argentinian has attracted interest from some of Europe’s elite clubs including Italian Champions Juventus and previously Manchester City, but it now looks like Arsenal are in pole position to land their man.

Arsene Wenger met with Higuain and his father, who is also the players agent, in Paris and held productive talks with the duo about a move to North London.

Arsenal were boosted by the news that Wenger will have £70 million to spend on transfers this summer, the biggest transfer kitty in the club’s history.

Higuain could be available for as little as £20 million, leaving a hefty amount left in the warchest for more high-profile additions to the squad.

Matthias Ginter

The Daily Mirror are reporting that Arsenal are interested in signing German starlet Matthias Ginter of Freiburg.

The 19-year-old made 21 appearances in the Bundesliga last season, scoring once in that time.

Although primarily used as a defensive midfielder, the German has also played in a more creative midfield role and interestingly as a striker for his club this season.

The Freiburg star has also attracted attention from Champions League finalists and Bundesliga runners up Borussia Dortmund, making competition for the players signature tough.

Freiburg have already lost several key players already this offseason, and would be reluctant to sell. But Arsenal, with plenty of cash available and a core of German players (Podolski, Mertesacker, Gnabry, Eisfeld) already at the Emirates, could be boosted in any move they make for the youngster.

Be sure to catch Ginter in action for Germany at this month’s U-21 European Championships.

Marouane Fellaini

Arsenal’s hopes of landing Everton and Belgium star Marouane Fellaini took a blow last night as Everton chairman Bill Kenwright admitted he is ready to give up his star to Manchester United.

David Moyes has been quiet since taking over Manchester United and it is beng widely reported that is number one transfer target this summer is his ex-player Fellaini.

Kenwright explained that Moyes knowledge of Fellaini’s contract and release clause gives the new United manager a huge boost in his pursuit for the midfielder.

It was recently reported that Arsenal had activated the lofty Belgian’s £22 million release clause, however insiders quickly defused those rumours, but clarified that the interest was definitely there.

Keep an eye on this story as it is highly likely that the transfer will develop in the coming weeks.

Simon Mignolet

Arsenal have identified Simon Mignolet as a transfer target as they look to provide competition for the erratic Wojciech Szczesny between the sticks.

The Belgian international was a key reason that Sunderland avoided relegation from the Premier League last season and has drawn attention from top clubs across Europe.

His agent spoke out this week, telling the Sunderland Echo: “I think it is very unlikely that he will sign a new contract.

“Simon has obviously come to a point where he wants to step up a level and there is a lot of interest in him.”

Mignolet faces tough competition from Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois, who has enjoyed two successful seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid, to be Belgian’s first choice goalkeeper for the 2014 World Cup and wants to prove himself at a higher level.

Mignolet still has two years left on his contract, but if the right deal came along for the keeper, Sunderland would likely be willing to sell.