Arsenal make bid for Faouzi Ghoulam

Arsenal have made a bid for Napoli defender Faouzi Ghoulam, according to reports in Italy.

MediaSet claim the Gunners have tabled an offer of around £10m for the Algeria international who played in two of his nation's four World Cup group games last summer.

The 24-year-old made 21 Serie A appearances for the Naples side last season but was not always first-choice with 10 of those outings beginning from the bench.He moved to Serie A in January 2014 and has spent a season-and-a-half with Napoli.

He made 20 league starts last term and was a regular in the Europa League.

Arsenal already boast Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal at left-back but the later has been linked with a return to Spain.

Arsene Wenger has so far signed only Petr Cech this summer while Arsenal's rivals have been busy.

And Wenger admitted this morning that he may not make any more moves unless he finds the right man.

"I don’t close the door," he said. “If we can find any player who can strengthen the squad then we will. 

"We have strengthened the squad already and I believe part of the success of the team is down to the level of cohesion.

Arsene Wenger isn't the only coach interested in rising asset Ghoulam, however, as David Amoyal of Gianluca Di Marzio revealed Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are also intrigued in a summer pursuit:

Monreal became the Gunners' first-choice left-back last season ahead of Kieran Gibbs, starting in 26 of his 28 Premier League appearances.

Despite Athletic's interest in cutting a £7 million deal, Wenger won't be cashing in on Monreal this summer, according to the Mirror's John Cross, who adds the Spaniard may even sign a new contract.

Ghoulam started only 11 Serie A matches last season, but he is attracting interest from some of Europe's biggest outfits as a wing-back capable of impressing in attack, notching four assists in 2014-15.

It's likely Monreal's immediate future will have a direct impact on Ghoulam's potential future as an Arsenal player.

3 Major signings Arsenal can still make this summer

3 Major signings Arsenal can still make this summer

It looks increasingly as though Arturo Vidal will join Bayern Munich from Juventus for a fee of around £26 million plus £2 million in add-ons. He is, of course, a very fine midfielder, but he’s not somebody who obviously seems to fit Pep Guardiola's style of play. That raises two possibilities, both intriguing: Firstly, that, given Guardiola has only one year left on his contract, Bayern are already looking to a future without him, or that Guardiola is considering modifying his approach.

Yet in terms of the make-up of the squad, the two are clearly linked. It had been widely assumed that one of the reasons Schweinsteiger was allowed to leave was that Bayern have a glut of midfielders: Philipp Lahm, Thiago Alcantara, Javi Martinez and Xabi Alonso all play in that same central position. But with the arrival of Vidal, Martinez could be the next play to leave because of his injury woes.

Lacazette  is yet another player the gunners could snap up, It's a switch Wenger would be proud of. He engineered similar transitions from former wingers Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie. Both became prolific once they moved through the middle.
Reports in France claim that Arsenal have had Lacazette watched by scouts several times and Fournier's comments are unlikely to dampen speculation surrounding a possible move to north London.
Lacazette has certainly followed a similar path. He scored 31 times in all competitions for Lyon last season, according to WhoScored.com.
 Arsenal have been cleared to sign Karim Benzema, as Real Madrid are reportedly considering selling him. The Gunners are believed to be preparing a £17.8million bid for the France international forward, and Real are on the verge of letting him leave, according to reports in Spain

Arsenal Sign Nuri Sahin from Real Mardrid

"There`s no smoke without fire" goes the old adage, and in the case of Nuri Sahin to Arsenal, there`s a sky full of smoke.



Rumour has had it for much of the summer that Arsene Wenger is looking to bring in the Turkish midfielder on loan (possibly with an option to buy) from Real Madrid, and given the confirmation of Alex Song`s departure to Barcelona, the rumours have gathered much more pace this morning.



Despite interest from Liverpool (Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers served under Mourinho at Chelsea, seemingly giving him the, edge) it appears as though Sahin will opt for Arsene Wenger`s Arsenal.



John Cross of the Daily Mirror is one of the more competent journalists out there and has been in action on Twitter over the past day or so claiming the deal should be announced soon.



As Mr Cross points out, Sahin is a completely different player to Song so his signing might not mean the end to our transfer dealings or the French manager could be looking at an alternate set-up.



Whatever happens, Sahin is a player who I admire greatly and would love to see him in the famous red and white (and blue) of my beloved

Read more: http://www.arsenal.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=530630#ixzz36k9pllaD

Cazorla - Vital to replace duo Arsenal new boy pleased with debut performance

Santi Cazorla has expressed his joy at making his Premier League debut but warned it is important for Arsenal to fill the void created by the departures of Robin van Persie and Alex Song.

The Gunners kicked off the new campaign with a frustrating goalless draw against Sunderland on Saturday, with new strikers Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud unable to provide the firepower that Van Persie so regularly delivered last season.
Arsene Wenger has insisted it would be unfair to make judgments after just one game, while Cazorla is also confident the team will improve as the season develops.
However, the Spaniard admits it is disappointing that Van Persie has joined Manchester United and Song is set to complete a move to Barcelona after a deal was agreed over the weekend.
Cazorla said in the Daily Mirror: "It's clear that Van Persie is a great player and obviously we would all have preferred it if he had stayed. Song has gone as well and there are still 10 days left in the transfer market.

Build

"I do not know if we will sign anyone but obviously it's important to replace players like that because they were so important for the team."
While Arsenal did not get the victory they were looking for against the Black Cats, Cazorla caught the eye with an impressive performance in his first appearance since arriving from Malaga.
He said: "It felt really good making my debut. Of course, it was not the result any of us wanted, but we had chances and we did well.
"It's a long season, so we can build on this. I had one chance and so did a few of my colleagues and that was the key to the game. We had complete control but that final step just eluded us."

I would be nothing without Arsenal says Song

Alex Song has now confirmed that he is close to a move to Barcelona and also reveals that he will always be thankfull to the support, that the gunners provided him
Arsenal agreed a fee with Song of £15m and the deal was announced by both clubs on their official websites yesterday. Song will join Barcelona and wear the number 25 shirt on a five year deal with an €80m release clause in his contract.

Barcelona sign Alex Song from Arsenal

Barcelona have confirmed the signing of Arsenal midfielder Alexandre Song for a fee of €19 million.
The Premier League club announced the signing via their official website on Saturday afternoon following their opening day draw with Sunderland.
The statement read: “Song will now travel to the Catalan club to agree personal terms and undergo a medical ahead of the proposed move.”
Barcelona also confirmed the deal, saying: FC Barcelona and Arsenal FC have reached an agreement for the transfer of Alex Song for 19 million euros.  The player will sign a contract for the next five seasons with a release clause of 80 million.”
The Cameroon international will link up with his new team-mates on Sunday before being presented to the club’s fans before Monday nights Gamper Trophy against Sampdoria at Camp Nou.
Song will sign a five-year contract with the Catalan giants that features a buy-out clause of €80 million.

Victor Wanyama Would Be Ready-Made Replacement for Alex Song, Arsenal

Alex Song is an underrated Premier League player in the grand scheme of things, but there are several players around world football that could do good jobs as his replacement.
The player that I think presents both the most talent and value for money is Victor Wanyama.
I believe he would cost anywhere between £5-8 million, but compared to the silly-money spending in the EPL for players of a similar ilk, it's a bargain.
Despite Song and Wanyama being different players, the core values they bring to teams are the same; they are both versatile and have great distribution despite being primarily defensive-minded players.
As a Rangers fan, I was happy to see that we were linked with the Kenyan international back when he was at Beerschot AC, but Celtic were smart enough to snap up the 21-year-old around a year ago and have never looked back since.
At 6'2" and with a muscular physique, Wanyama can unsurprisingly perform well at centre-back but defensive midfield is where he really thrives the most.
Wanyama is that under-the-radar player that breaks up the play, allowing things to keep ticking over until the team's playmakers get their feet on the ball.
It's not certain that Song even wants to leave, but with a deal appearing to be close, Arsenal could do worse than to open talks with Celtic.
Celtic do not need to sell, but it's clear that Wanyama wants to play at a higher level, and he is one of several SPL players who is actually good enough to do so.
The Daily Mail reported a few weeks back that Arsenal saw Wanyama as an option, and despite no solid quotes in the article, this limited reporting may actually turn out to be true.
Wanyama can do a little bit of everything, whether it be getting his head to the ball, showing some nice touches or drilling 25-yard screamers into the top corner of the net.
Wanyama suits the Arsenal mold well and would also bring a little bit of physicality that may be missing.
At only 21 Wanyama is still raw and has much to learn, but he already has the skills to do well at a higher level, and it wouldn't surprise me if he follows the likes of Nikica Jelavic into the Premier League and does very well.
The competition would be a step up, but he is already accustomed to playing under pressure.
Playing in Glasgow is like playing in a cauldron, and he would actually enjoy the more mild-mannered Arsenal fans, I'm sure.
He is used to more fan pressure with Celtic than he would get in London, and I'm sure that means he will be ready for anything thrown at him.