Diarra Walking, Bendtner Talking, and Arsene Stalking
Add comment January 16th, 2008
Lassana Diarra is reportedly closing in on a £5.5m switch to Portsmouth. Quite a few respectable sources have corroborated this one, and whilst Portsmouth have denied agreeing a deal, it might not be too far off. When asked about Diarra at the weekend, Arsene replied that he would inform the press when there was some news, without any of his usual statements about wanting to keep the player. Sadly, it seems that Diarra’s mind is made up.  More on this if and when he goes, but needless to say I think he’s making a terrible decision.
Nicklas Bendtner walks a fine line between confidence and complacency, and admits as much himself in this interview with The Times, coming out with the remarkable revelation that whilst at Birmingham, “There were games when I could have worked harder”. Fortunately he seems to realise that simply won’t be tolerated at Arsenal.
Arsene is chasing a couple of young stars. First there’s Vyacheslav Dmitriev, who will reportedly join at the end of the season from Torpedo Moscow. Then there’s Luke Freeman, the 15-year old Gillingham striker – his manager reveals negotiations are currently underway over the player’s transfer, and I’m sure something will be sorted soon.
Finally, The Independent links us with Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin. Frankly, I just can’t see it. He’s got Spurs written all over him. Poor lad.