Song going to Barcelona for real

Cameroonian midfielder Alex Song would appear to be on the verge of a move to Spanish giants Barcelona. The holding midfielder has three years left on his contract, but Arsenal seem to have decided to sell him anyway.

Barcelona's interest has been public for the last couple of weeks, but because of the length of time left on his contract, Arsenal had been seen to be in a strong position, with little inclination to sell. However, Song's agent has reportedly infuriated the club by touting his client around the top clubs in Europe, and there has been some speculation that the club have been having some issues with the player over his attitude.

Other sources have been saying that Arsenal do in fact want to keep Song, but he has had his head turned by Barcelona's interest and that the Arsenal hierarchy just are not interested in yet another transfer saga, so will be naming their price.

In his press conference this morning, Arsene Wenger did little to dispel rumours that another of his star performers from last season could be set for pastures new. He said, "both [Song leaving and new signings] could happen. I don't know [about Song] at the moment.

"This decision [on Song] is not made. No [bid has been made]. I cannot tell you more."

Strong speculation has emerged this evening that Barcelona have successfully negotiated a £20m fee for the 24-year-old and that the Gunners will make a formal announcement that he has left the club by Monday. Spanish paper El Mundo Deportivo are reporting that the Catalans will be announcing his signing in a matter of hours, after the clubs agreed a fee of €20m (£15.7m) - although, as I said, British sources are suggesting a figure of £20m.

If Song does depart, Arsenal will be almost certain to strengthen, with Turk Nuri Sahin, 23, a likely arrival, on a season-long loan from Real Madrid. It had not been clear if Arsenal's move for Sahin was linked with Alex Song's future, but that does now seem the case (although I personally feel it's totally unrelated), with Sahin said to be stalling on a loan move to Liverpool so he can join the Gunners instead.

Another thing that was mentioned by Wenger during the questioning over Song's future, is that he now sees Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as a centre midfielder, rather than playing a wide role as he did last season, "Oxlade-Chamberlain now plays centre midfield - this is an area we have more freedom to make decisions."