Filed under: Football
Arsene Wenger, as Cesc Fabregas continues to find in spite of pleas from his hometown mayor, is a man who cannot be swayed from doing things his own way and that means the Frenchman's penchant for signing young players with potential remains the basis of Arsenal's recruitment policy.As a result the Gunners now, all of a sudden, appear to have gazumped city rivals Chelsea over Romelu Lukaku, Anderlecht's 18-year-old striker whose physique and goal-scoring record in Belgium has inevitably seen him dubbed as the new Didier Drogba.
The Sun reports that talks have already reached an advanced stage for a player who would cost around £14 million. That remains the sort of financial outlay that Wenger rarely sanctions of course, and is just peanuts to Chelsea, but the prospect of adding a player who has found the net 31 times before his 19th birthday is clearly tempting him.
Also in the frame for an Emirates Stadium switch is 19-year-old Joel Campbell, who sounds as though he might be Sol's younger brother but is actually a Costa Rica international and about to take part in the Under-20 World Cup in Colombia.
As he is in the final year of his contract with the Deportivo Saprissa club he wouldn't cost nearly as much as Lukaku but he has not played enough international matches to qualify automatically for a work permit so is unlikely to be replacing Nicklas Bendtner any time soon.
The Gunners are about to finish their Far East tour and Theo Walcott reckons it is about time Wenger rejigged his attacking options anyway, with the England flier begging to be switched from the wing to a more straightforward role.
"I was signed as a striker - I want to play up front," Walcott declared. "I think a lot of people forget I'm not a winger. I see myself as a striker, but if I get played up front it will take me a few games to get used to playing there again because I haven't played there for about five years.
"I think I have done a fairly good job on the wing for Arsenal. For this team I will play anywhere, but hopefully the fans will start seeing me up front a bit more."
Walcott scored 13 goals last term and was determined to beat that haul in 2011-12. "I've been practicing my finishing after training. This season, 15-20 is my target," he confirmed.
"I know I'm not going to play every single game. I always work at a high intensity so I'm not going to be able to do every single game. The boss will know that as well. Hopefully I will be given a bit more of a free role as well. I'm intrigued to see what happens."
Another man waiting to see what happens is Denilson, who is hoping to leave the Gunners to return to Brazil with Sao Paulo, his former club. The 23-year-old midfielder has found playing time hard to come by following a disappointing campaign last term and is open to a season-long loan switch.
"Everything has been settled," a source was quoted in Lancenet. "He is already returning home and he is very happy with that." So will many Arsenal fans in fact.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/07/16/arsene-wenger-makes-his-move-for-the-new-didier-drogba/
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