Filed under: Football
As Arsenal supporters brace themselves for the inevitable, and now fairly dignified, departure of Cesc Fabregas at least they can take heart from the fact that not only is Gervinho about to join the Gunners but that he also turned down Tottenham. If you can't beat the best in the world then at least make sure you are kings of your own back yard...Tottenham, it seems, made a late but unsuccessful bid to hijack Lille's £11 million-rated Ivory Coast forward, who has told France Football his move to join Arsene Wenger's band of hopefuls is nearly done.
"I chose Arsenal because it's a young group within which I will be able to integrate easily," he said. "I could develop more over there. There are only a few details left to sort out."
And the 24-year-old expects to oust one of the existing Emirates Stadium strike roster too. "In football you have to take risks if you want to win. I'm going to Arsenal to win. I'm going there to play, not to be on the bench.
"Arsenal love the game, and I love teams that love the game. The Premier League is a notch above. It's maybe the best league in the world. I want to live that sensation."
Of course, should Samir Nasri decamp to either Manchester United or Manchester City then Gervinho will find starts easiler to come by, in not perhaps silverware, and plenty of candidates for Fabregas' replacement have also been suggested.
These range from the exotic - Argentine play-maker Ricardo Alvarez - to the unlikely - Anzhi Makhachkala's Uzbekistan international Odil Ahmedov - and extend as far as the downright hilarious, into which category comes Newcastle's Joey Barton, the Scouser with a short fuse who is probably the man most unlike Wenger in personality in world football (although he can certainly pass a ball so don't rule it out completely).
With Gael Clichy poised to join Manchester City, the list of departures looks set to be far lengthier than a roll call for new recruits but many Arsenal fans were hoping for a mini clear out anyway, at least of the fringe men who have shown themselves to be almost but not quite able to compete withe best at home and abroad.
One man who fits that category is the injury-prone Tomas Rosicky, but the Czech midfielder has already revealed he does not expect to be anywhere else other than Ashburton Grove next term.
"I don't want to go somewhere where I would have it easier and where even the ordinary life would be easier for me," he said. "I want to achieve something with Arsenal. On Monday, I am starting pre-season with Arsenal.
"Before the summer break I was speaking with coach Wenger and he told me he counted on my services and that there was no intention of selling me."
Of course, Wenger also needs to sign at least one experienced centre half and is not keen on matching Bolton's £17 million asking price for Gary Cahill. And one new name has emerged over the past 24 hours or so - Manchester United's John O'Shea.
And while prising the 30-year-old from Old Trafford would hardly count as retaliation for United's attempts to land Nasri, O'Shea is certainly experienced and would not cost anything like £17 million.
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