Arsenal transfer news: Wenger gives Ozil boost, North London battle for PL star and more - 25th November 2017
Wenger denies Barcelona deal for Ozil
The 29-year old has been linked with a move away from the Emirates with his contract expiring next summer. Barcelona and Manchester United were the reported frontrunners for the player with the Spanish side eyeing Ozil as an alternative to Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho. On the other hand, Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho worked with the World Cup winner earlier at Real Madrid.
Further reports in the past week suggested that Barcelona won the race for Ozil and is set to join them in the upcoming January transfer window. This news was taken to Arsene Wenger and he squashed the speculations regarding the German agreeing to a contract with Barcelona. He told Sky Sports:
No (regarding the agreement). What kind of control can I have over that [speculation]? All these people have agents who can talk to anybody. That doesn't disturb people, that happens all through their career."
Thus, an agreement is not in place giving Arsenal a slim chance of convincing the player to stay. However, if the player is intent on leaving, then the Gunners could use the cash by selling him in January and secure a top replacement. In such a scenario, Barcelona and Manchester United will be going head-to-head for the playmaker.
Arsenal and Spurs to fight it out for Wilfried Zaha
The former Manchester United winger has finally found his feet again after a forgettable spell at the Theatre of Dreams. Zaha is in fact, now the biggest weapon Crystal Palace have at their disposal, along with Christian Benteke, to beat the drop this season. On the other hand. the Englishman's performances have seen his stocks soar and he is now on the radar of several clubs, including Arsenal and Tottenham.
The North London rivals are looking to battle it out for the 25-year old and Eagles manager Roy Hodgson spoke about the possibility of receiving offers for his star man. He said:
“He is an obvious name but there are other players, too. I would not be surprised if other players were wanted or thought could be good additions. We have to be prepared for that."
“If offers come along for players who are doing well for us that we are not particularly anxious to lose, decisions will have to be made by the club as to what offers are to be turned down and what offers are to be accepted.”
Losing Zaha in January could prove to be a huge blow for Palace's survival hopes but he could be a good addition to either of Arsenal or Tottenham for the second-half of the season.
Jack Wilshere set for January exit
The 25-year old has struggled to nail down a starting spot owing mainly to injuries throughout his career. Wilshere is currently down the pecking order with the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka ahead of him. A loan spell to Bournemouth last season did not help his cause either.
The midfielder is currently getting game-time in cup competitions, especially the Europa League. However, he is yet to break into Wenger's first-choice XI and his contract expires in the summer. Thus, Wilshere is not in England manager Gareth Southgate's plans either with the likes of Crystal Palace's Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Burnley's Jack Cork preferred over the Arsenal man in recent times.
Thus, the Englishman has expressed his frustration and a possible departure in January to the Daily Express:
"I will try everything. But I think we will have to talk about possibly leaving in January when it comes down to it. We have got a month until then and we’ll see what happens.Obviously, when January comes, I have only got six months left on my contract."
"Me and the boss will probably have a conversation before then and – we have known each other for long enough and we have a good relationship where we can be honest with each other so I’m sure we will be and then we will go from there."
"He has always been good to me in the past, we have known each other long enough to be honest with each other and I’m sure between now and January we will have that conversation."
This could very well be the beginning of the end for a player who has been at the club since 2001.