It is a well-known fact that Arsenal are no longer a selling club and will only sell if we can get a better replacement to come in, but that doesn’t stop the media talking about our players being tagets for other clubs, especially as the Interlull has given them little else to talk about.
The first one is our very own little Spaniard Santiago Cazorla, who is apparently being eyed by Barcelona as a possible replacement for Xavi, who is leaving the Nou Camp this summer. Cazorla may be 30, but he is five years younger than Xavi and is certainly able to fit into the Barcelona style of play, but as the Catalans have a transfer embargo until January I can see little truth in this rumour….
The second exit rumour is even more unbelievable, as the Star reports that Barcelona again are keen on taking Hector Bellerin back to Spain (a la Fabregas) as an urgent replacement for Dani Alves, who is out of contract in June. The 20 year-old right-back has only just signed a new long-term Arsenal deal but is still likely to spend most of his time on the bench when Mathieu Debuchy returns from injury. He is definitely a future Arsenal star and Wenger definitely won’t entertain any offers for Hector….
The last one is much more likely to happen, as Carl Jenkinson has been playing well at right-back while on loan at West Ham. Many stories have appeared saying that the lifelong Arsenal fan has been given permission to talk to the Hammers about a move across London, but the West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan has admitted that they are unlikely to know more until the end of the season. He was quoted as saying: “I think we need goalscorers, a right back and maybe a central defender. The situation with Carl Jenkinson won’t be clear until the end of the season but we will have to sign a right back one way or another.”
So it seems obvious that they want Jenkinson, and with Bellerin and Debuchy ahead of him in the pecking order I can see Wenger cashing in to help fund other arrivals…..