Wenger on Ben Arfa, Transfer targets, and Flamini’s contract
1 comment March 28th, 2008
On Ben Arfa:
“It’s a player I’ve known for a long long time, and that I rate, but I’ve never heard from Lyon that he is for sale. I just wanted to say that for me he is a good player with a big talent.”
On finding transfer targets for the Summer:
“Slowly, yes, we get there. But I’ve said many times and I repeat that, even if we go through a difficult patch at the moment: my first target is to keep the team together, and when that job is done I can go somewhere else and look. But I have not completeled that job at the moment.”
On Flamini’s contract:
“We are progressing. I want to solve this case one way or the other in April. It looks like we can respect this delay.”
The last two quotes don’t make Flamini’s future with the club sound particularly certain. It’s not an unfair assumption that our transfer policy for the Summer will in part be dictated by whether or not Flamini stays.
The quote on Ben Arfa is interesting. The winger has had a few spats at Lyon in recent months, particularly with star striker Karim Benzema, so it’s not outrageous to suggest that the French champions might be willing to sell. Arsene has essentially declared an interest, so if Ben Arfa does become available, he can expect to be at the front of the queue.
The Spanish press have intimated that Cesc has split with his agent, possibly over his desire to remain in England. It sounds somewhat sensationalist, but if I can confirm this news at any point, I will.
Finally, Arsene has revealed the disappointing news that Bacary Sagna will miss between three and five weeks with an ankle injury. It’s disappointing on two levels: the first being that Bacary is great, the second being that his potential replacement, Eboue and Hoyte, really really aren’t. Shifting Toure to right-back and bringing Senderos into the centre seems like the obvious solution- whether Arsene agrees remains to be seen.
It’s Friday, people. Nice.
