Barcelona starting to think over move for Arsenal's Arshavin
Barcelona believe that the summer transfer whirlwind could blow Arsenal’s Andrei Arshavin in their direction only half a season after Russia’s captain arrived in north London from Zenit St Petersburg.
n in their direction only half a season after Russia’s captain arrived in north London from Zenit St Petersburg.
This may seem wishful thinking by the European champions and may be dismissed out of hand immediately by the Gunners and their fans who have been highly impressed by Arshavin - for whom Barcelona had bid unsuccessully last summer.
However, the possibility is being aired more and more frequently in and around the corridors of Camp Nou, particularly with the prospect of Barcelona losing out to Real Madrid in the pursuit of Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has been less than impressed by the creative efforts of a previous signing from Arsenal, Alexander Hleb. He had placed Ribery at the top of his list of target midfielders but believes that Arshavin could be equally effective in opening up defences for Thierry Henry, Leo Messi and, perhaps, David Villa – if he arrives from Valencia in place of Samuel Eto’o.
In France striker Steve Savidan's career could be over at 31 after his transfer from relegated Caen to Monaco was called off when a medical revealed a heart defect. Savidan won his only cap for France in a friendly against Paraguay last November.
The France national team goalkeeper Mickael Landreau, who joined Lille only last Monday from Paris Saint-Germain, will miss the first half of the new season after tearing the cruciate ligament in his right knee in training on Friday.
In Italy, Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has confirmed that Real Madrid’s Holland strikerKlaas Jan Huntelaar and Sevilla's Brazilian Luis Fabiano are among possible transfer targets after the failure of a bid for German champions Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko. Milan have also been linked with Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor.