Arsenal keen to acquire legendary http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gianluigi-Buffon-c14833
Arsenal have their eyes set on the legendary Italian goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon. The 33-year-old shot-stopper is having trouble renewing his contract with Juventus FC, and the Gunners are ready to pounce for his signature should an opportunity present
itself. Under a clause in Buffon’s contract, the fiercely loyal custodian can leave the Turin giants on a free transfer, making the acquisition an absolute steal in spite of the goalkeeper’s 150,000 pounds a week wage demands.
The Gunners manager, Arsene Wenger, has brought back http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jens-Lehmann-c18297 back to the club in a desperate bid to solve the on-field goalkeeping problems, but Lehmann was less than impressive in his first outing since his return. The 41-year-old kept the gloves for
Arsenal reserves against Wigan Athletic on Tuesday and failed to impress. Consequently, Wenger has been forced to look for other options.
Gianluigi Buffon joined Juventus in 2001 from the fellow Serie A outfit, Parma FC, and has become a cult figure with the Bianconeri ever since. Wildly regarded as the best goalkeeper of all time, Buffon has earned a plethora of honours during his 10-year
stay with the club. He has received the UEFA Champions League Most Valuable Player award once, Serie A Goalkeeper of the year award a record eight times, IFFHS Best Goalkeeper award four times, while legendary http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pele-c40189 declared him amongst the 125 greatest living
footballers.
Buffon has made 284 appearances for the Old Lady since 2001. His loyalty for La Vecchia Signora cause was severely tested when Juventus were relegated to Serie B in 2006 following the Calciopoli incident. However, Buffon stayed loyal to the club and despite
strong interest from a host of elite European club, the legend stayed in Turin and won the Serie B, winning instant promotion back to the top flight.
His club exploits aside, Buffon has also been capped more than 100 times for the Italian national team. The goalkeeper recently revealed his thoughts on a possible transfer and admitted that he would only consider an outfit in the Barclays Premier League.
Arsene Wenger might land the custodian for free but the hefty wage demands are likely to create problems. For all his exploits and talents, Buffon has struggled against injuries in recent years. However, the other options that Wenger has at his disposal;
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Manuel-Neuer-c23424, are expected to cost the London outfit in the region of 25 million Euros in transfer fees. Conclusively, Buffon remains the best option.
Arsenal are not the only club gunning for Buffon’s signature. Fellow Serie A outfit, AS http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roma-c31603, are also interested in a potential transfer. New Roma owner, Thomas DiBenedetto, is keen on adding the star to the Roman outfit. Should a transfer to Barclays Premier
League fail to materialise, the Giallorossi will be favourites to land the legendary custodian.
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