- Arsenal bid rejected for Chelsea youngster Freddy Bernal
- Arsenal lead chase for Lille’s Jonathan David
- Arsenal eye move to sign Bournemouth star Semenyo
- Arsenal receive big boost in pursuit of Nico Williams
- Confirmed line-ups: Liverpool vs Arsenal – Rice ruled out, White starts
- Arsenal begin contract talks with William Saliba
- Arsenal target Cristhian Mosquera for summer move
- Arsenal eye move to sign AC Milan star Rafael Leao
- Arsenal looking to trump Man Utd to sign Goncalo Ramos
- Arsenal keen on Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick
Wenger Responds To Falcao & Rabiot Reports, Hints At Late Signings
Arsene Wenger has responded to speculation linking Arsenal with moves for Radamel Falcao and Adrien Rabiot, and also confirmed that he’ll be active in the transfer market right up until the deadline on Monday night.
Fans are desperate for the boss to bring in a top class striker after Olivier Giroud was ruled out for four months with a fractured tibia and Falcao is one of several names to be linked in recent days.
Reports on Wednesday claimed that we were in talks with Monaco and Falcao’s representatives about a possible season-long loan deal that would cost us in the region of €20m when factoring in a loan fee and the strikers wages.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference this morning ahead of our clash with Leicester, Arsene was quizzed about his interest in the Colombian and interestingly, the boss refused to rule out a deal. When asked about Falcao, he said:
It’s very difficult to go into all that. Once again all the negotiations have to be as secret as possible and if we sign somebody, even if we sign Falcao, you will be informed.
A defensive midfielder is also on the agenda and further reports claim that we have held talks with the agent of PSG youngster Adrien Rabiot about a potential €12m move to the Emirates.
Arsene was also asked about the French under-21 international today, with journalist James Olly saying “I’ll put one name to you; Adrien Rabiot“, to which Arsene replied:
“I’ll put one answer. I’m not telling you.”
As ever, Arsene is playing his cards very close to his chest and he’s likened the final few days of the transfer window to a poker game, but he’s confirmed that he’ll be ‘active’ in the market right up until the last minute of deadline day.
“It’s harder to buy top, top, top players, yes,” he said. “Many clubs are on the market and everybody knows each other.
“The last few days are poker games. There’s a lot of lies there in the few days, everybody is interested in the same player even if you’re the only one who wants the player.
“[When you are experienced] you can call it a bluff when it is a bluff.”
“I will be actively involved but on the last day of the window. I will of course be on alert until the last minute of the transfer deadline.”
So it looks like we’re in for a nervy few days to see if Arsene’s gambling skills pay off. If we could bring in Falcao and Rabiot or Carvalho we’d be in excellent shape heading in to the new season.
Ideally we need an experienced centre-back as well, but I think Calum Chambers is now considered as third choice so we just need some depth in that position and Rabiot and Carvalho are both capable of filling in if needed.
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