Filed under: Arsenal, Champions League, Premier League, Football, Transfer News
It may not have been Friday 13th, but Arsenal fans will no doubt regard the date of the Champions League draw as a black day, as the club's pre-season tribulations took another twist.First came the part that they could not control: the fact they were handed a tricky tie against Serie A side Udinese in the play-off draw. Then came the news reported by BBC Sport that chief executive Ivan Gazidis was meeting with officials from Barcelona to discuss Cesc Fabregas.
Nothing was likely to be finalised between the clubs, but the mere news that they were on speaking terms will have irked manager Arsene Wenger as he took his side to Portugal where they face Benfica on Saturday night as part of their final pre-season preparations before they face Newcastle on August 13.
Because to get Arsenal bigwigs in the same room with their Barcelona counterparts is a big step forward - and an ominous one, if you are in the camp of fans who want everything possible to be done to hang on to their captain.
The to-ing and fro-ing will, as Barcelona have made clear, go on as long as it takes, until the transfer window closes on August 31. But it doesn't look good for Arsenal - who have in the past kept the Catalans at arm's length with regards to approaches for their player.
Barcelona are understood not to have tabled a bid beyond the £27 million that the Gunners rejected earlier this summer. But they also know that Arsenal have an asking price - which is believed to be £40 million - and will talk turkey if that is met.
Then there is that Champions League game. The first leg is due to be played at the Emirates on August 16 or 17, with the second leg the following week, between Premier League games against Liverpool and Manchester United.
While there is the small comfort that Udinese is not as far to travel to as Lyon's opponents Rubin Kazan of Russia, it will still prove a difficult trip. And there is added pressure on the first leg, with both Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie suspended, along with Wenger, following the ill-tempered Champions League clash against Barcelona last season.
Udinese finished fourth in last season's Serie A and boast Antonio Di Natale, who scored 57 goals over the last two seasons, up front.
But for the next week, Wenger will not be concerning himself with the dangers of players from other teams. He has enough on his plate with the trials of one of his own.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Geoff Ogilvy Gianluca Zambrotta Gianluigi Buffon Guillermo Garcia-Lopez Heath Slocum
No comments:
Post a Comment