Arsenal looking to sign Sevilla defender Sebastien Squillaci and keepers Shay Given & Mark Schwarzer
English Premier League club Arsenal are on the verge of signing Sevilla defender Sebastien Squillaci. The Spanish club has confirmed that Arsenal have made an offer.
The former English Champions have been short of experience in the defence; three senior defenders have left the club this season. William Gallas, Mikael Silvestre and Sol Campbell were all out of contract and had decided to leave.
Squillaci requested his team Sevilla that he should not be included in the Champions League play-off against Braga. According to UEFA rules, if he had played with Sevilla in the play-off for the Champions League, he would have been cup tied. The defender knew that a deal may be in prospect with Arsenal, so to keep his options open he opted to sit out.
Squillaci, who applied in trade at the former Champions Lyon for a while, has been estimated to be around 6.5 million pounds by Sevilla. However, it is still not clear whether Arsenal has met the asking price, or Arsene Wenger, being the miserly businessman that he is, is once again looking for a bargain.
Sevilla, on their official website, did acknowledge that Arsenal has made an offer for Squillaci, but added that nothing has been finalised as yet and his future is still up in the air.
The club's Sporting Director Ramon Rodriguez, while speaking to the press at the airport in Porto, said that Arsenal have been showing interest in Squillaci, and the club has received an official bid from the Gunners. He said that Squillaci himself asked the manager not to include him in the squad so that he can still be an option for Arsenal in the Champions League.
The Arsenal manager has been looking out for a capable defender this summer, and signed Laurent Koscielny. The young man had an eventful first match against Liverpool on the opening day of the season. He was at the receiving end of a reckless tackle by Joe Cole that resulted in Cole getting his marching orders. Joe Cole got a red card in his first game for the (ironic, isn't it?) Reds and will now miss the next match against Blackpool due to a suspension following the red card.
Arsene Wenger is believed to be pushing hard for Squillaci, and wants him at the Emirates as soon as possible. However, the 30 year old is unlikely to be part of the squad before next weekend.
Sevilla, meanwhile, are believed to have called for an emergency meeting of the board. The meeting was called after the offer from Arsenal came in. The board would decide whether the offer is good enough, and if it is, would they be able to bring in a replacement in time or not. The transfer window closes in 11 days time, on the 31st of August.
Defence is not the only concern for Arsene Wenger right now; he is also looking to get his hands on a quality goalkeeper. This is where his philosophy of buying them young goes out the window. He is looking to bring in an experienced man like Mark Schwarzer from Fulham, as he is finally tired of constant howlers from Manuel Almunia and Fabianski.
Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given is also an option; the Irishman has been unhappy at the City of Manchester Stadium, as Joe Hart has been chosen as the preferred keeper by Roberto Mancini. Wenger may take his chance and make a bid for the former Newcastle keeper.
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