By Fab4.
Morning Arsenal fans, here are a few transfer rumours to distract you from the Cesc Fabregas transfer saga. If i hear the words ‘Fabregas’ and ‘Barcelona’ one more time i think I’m going to go insane. You know the transfer window is close to re-opening when you read a headline linking Arsenal to ‘the new Vieira’, and Marseille’s Stephane Mbia is the latest to be likened to the Gunners legend. With Arsenal being linked to every goalkeeper under the sun, two of the more appealing targets have ruled themselves out of a move.
Stephane Mbia
Arsenal will launch a £16m bid for Marseille’s defensive midfielder Stephane Mbia, according to the Daily Mail. The 24-year-old Cameroonian played an important role in help lead Marseille to their first league title since 1992 and is considered as one of the best midfielders in French football. He is 6ft 2in and is a powerful presence in midfield, and with good technique to boot their is no surprises he has been described as ‘the new Vieira’. But i wish people would leave that similarity alone, there will only ever be one Vieira.
Despite the vastly improved performances of Alex Song last season, many Arsenal fans are still crying out for a dominant ball-winner in midfield and Mbia has been identified as the man for the job with Wenger willing to pay £16m to get his man. Arsenal have been linked with a move for Mbia in the last couple of transfer windows and he turned down a move to Everton last summer.
Hugo Lloris
Long-term Arsenal target Hugo Lloris has declared he has no plans to leave Lyon this summer amid reported interest from both the Gunners and AC Milan. Arsene Wenger has admitted to being an admirer of Llloris and with him on the look-out for a new No1, he unsurprisingly been linked with a move for the France stopper. But the 23-year-old has no intention of leaving Lyon, but did give Gunners fans hope by teasing that the future is still uncertain.
He told France Football: “To tell the truth, I did not have to make a decision on this matter because firstly, I am still under contract with OL, and secondly, this (leaving Lyon) is not part of my short-term goals.”
“I am very well in Lyon, with how things work and where the club is. We have qualified directly for the Champions League.”
“After that, you never know what the future holds.”
Gianluigi Buffon
Buffon has distanced himself from a move to Arsenal by claiming he is totally committed to Juventus, according to Daily Tuttosport. The 32-year-old has been linked with a move to the Premier League after saying if he was to leave Juve, England would be his preferred destination. With Juve in financial difficulties and having just endured a disappointing season, it was thought that Buffon would be sacrificed in order to give new boss Luigi Del Neri some transfer funds to rebuild the team.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was then heavily linked with making a move for the Italian international as he looks for a reliable No1, but although Buffon acknowledged he had heard of Arsenal’s interest he is determined to stay in Turin .
“I have not had any contact whatsoever with any other team. I never heard of interest from Arsenal and other teams….My priority is, was and will always be Juve.”Nobody can doubt my love for Juventus.”
What do Arsenal fans think of the latest transfer news? Please leave your comments below….
