Arsenal "baulk" at Jovetic's £25m price-tag -Striker chooses to sign for Wenger

Morning Gooners.

The transfer rumour mill is cranking up and unsurprisingly the "news" about Stevan Jovetic's possible move to north London is gathering pace.

It's unsurprising that stories like the ones published in the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror should find there way into print. It's all part of the narrative of how Arsenal buy a player.

Apparently we are shocked that Fiorentina want £25m for the 23-year-old forward.

There always comes a time in the transfer negotiation where it appears that Arsenal baulk at the price of said target. It's what our club does isn't it?

But is it true? Are we always surprised with how much a player costs?

Shouldn't it go something like this: We enquire about a player, selling club tell us how much they want for him. We make an offer, they turn it down. Continue until we find an agreement through negotiation or the deal breaks down.

Of course Fiorentina might want to keep Jovetic. They might want to sell him to the highest bidder - the Daily Star believe Jose Mourinho will try to make the forward one of his first signings at Chelsea and that will certainly put the price up if true.

At the end of the day Jovetic is an asset of Fiorentina's and they will want to get the most amount of money for him. If we really want him we're going to have to push the boat out and stump up a lot of money to get him.

But there will come a point where - £70m+ transfer war chest or not - Arsenal will walk away from any deal for the Montenegro international. We've got other targets.

And Gonzalo Higuain is someone who Arsene Wenger will be looking at very carefully.

One player who certainly will be wearing the red and white next season is Yaya Sonago.

He's told Sky Sports:

"Arsenal could be a great club for me, I scored nine goals this season with Auxerre and they think I can improve my level in England. 

"I am pleased to be following in the footsteps of Abou Diaby who came through from Auxerre. 

"There are many teams interested in me, but Arsenal is my choice."

The signing of the 20-year-old is for the future and not as a main member of the first team squad for next season. It's highly unlikely he'll play many, if any, minutes in the Premier League or Champions League.

In all likelihood he'll be mainly used in the under-21s. So don't see him as a first team player, because he won't be.

That's it for today. Back with more tomorrow.

Follow @Ashburton_Grove on Twitter. To receive the blog everyday you can subscribe via e-mail or take the RSS feed to your favourite reader.

Gazidis wants Wenger to spend -Jovetic and Higuain would be fantastic signings

Morning Gooners.

It seems like the critics really don't understand the mentality of football fans. After one of the hardest seasons to watch Arsenal - lets be honest the football at times has been far from pretty and left most of us tense and anxious - it was a relief that we signed off the campaign with a win, securing Champions League football for the 16th successive season.

Gooners around the world also had to celebrate St Totteringham's Day. A day in our calendar which came later than in most seasons.

But while we all get over our hangovers, we know that next season must be different. We don't want to be challenging for fourth yet again. And while that might be the manager's minimum achievement set to him by the board, there is certainly an opportunity to improve on our standing next season.

And the players know it as well. Kieran Gibbs spoke of professional footballers having a short career in his interview with the Sunday Times and of time slipping away with chances to win trophies and medals. Now he wants to make an improvement next season.

Gibbs told the Evening Standard:

"We were a new-look side for another season, again, with new signings that have had to come in and step up. It is never easy to just come straight into the Premier League and perform like some of our good players have. 

"In the end, there was a combination of us needing to realise what we wanted from the season and the players starting to get to know each other more. As time went on, we started to gel. 

"That was important and it puts us in good stead for next season because I believe the team have gelled because of this. The dramatic finale makes us even stronger and we are going into next season head on."

With the squad likely to remain in tack, with only minor surgery taking place, the manager is in a position to make quality additions which will give us the opportunity to put in a sustained title fight for next season.

There is the chance to stick with what we've got but chief executive Ivan Gazidis has publicly up the heat on the manager to go out and improve the squad. We've got the money to spend Arsene, now lets use it.


Gazidis told Arsenal.com:

“It is important to reiterate that for everyone at the club, qualification for the Champions League is not our ultimate ambition.  

"Our majority owner Mr Kroenke has made it clear that while it's an achievement to make the Champions League our ultimate objective is to win the major trophies.  

"We all share that clear ambition and will be driving the club forward to achieve it. Arsène and I have already been planning what we need to do to strengthen so we are better placed next season. 

"One thing is certain. The club is in a very strong position to move forward and our form of losing just one of our last 16 Premier League matches shows that we have a solid foundation on which to build for success."

With money having gone unspent in previous transfer windows and cash being generated with new deals on shirt sponsorship with Emirates and kit manufacturing with Puma, the manager has at his disposal up to £70m for transfer fees and wages.

Our scouting operation has been busy throughout the season. We've identified a number of targets and now it's down to whether we can do the business in the transfer market. It would be silly for us to work so hard on the pitch to secure Champions League football and not to go out and strengthen with quality additions who can push us on to the next level.

One of those we have scouted heavily is the Fiorentina forward Stevan Jovetic. The Montenegro international finished the season with 13 league goals from 31 appearances, including a goal and assist in Sunday's final match of Serie A.

Fiorentina's sporting director Daniele Prade told Italian newspaper Tuttosport:

"This is his last game with us? Never say never. We will give a response only after a meeting between the player." 

The Italian club finished the season in fourth, outside the Champions League positions. There are other suitors for Jovetic, but we've made our position clear to him.

And it appears that the 23-year-old isn't our only option. There are now strong rumours that Real Madrid are prepared to let Gonzalo Higuain leave this summer. The Daily Telegraph has the running with this one.

The 25-year-old Argentinean has scored one more goal than Jovetic - 14 from 26 appearances. And if he really is available for £19m, I'm sure the manager is definitely considering him.

Elsewhere, Jack Wilshere has been speaking about his ankle surgery at the launch of the new England shirt.

The 21-year-old has also spoken of his desire of captaining both Arsenal and England.

He said: 

"I’m having an operation this week to deal with the irritating scar tissue caused by the screws, but it’s a minor process and I’ll only be rested up for a fortnight."

Lets hope he's fighting fit and ready to go for next season. I'm sure he will be.

That's it for today. Back with more tomorrow.

Follow @Ashburton_Grove on Twitter. To receive the blog everyday you can subscribe via e-mail or take the RSS feed to your favourite reader.

Koscielny, Walcott and Ramsey outstanding as Arsenal secure Champions League qualification

Morning Gooners.

Well that's another season over and I'm sure I'm not alone in being glad to see the back of that one. The team achieved the manager's minimum goal of fourth spot and now we're in the Champions League - via a qualifying game - for the 16th successive year.

I wrote back at the start of the season that I thought that his would be the most challenging campaign under Arsene Wenger in terms of achieving a top four position. Once we sold the greedy badger back in August, this squad had a distinctively average look about it. There are some good players in it, but there aren't many game changers and few, if any world class players.

I wouldn't say that this is the manager's greatest ever achievement - clearly that is what the Invincibles achieved. But I would rate it pretty highly. We've achieved a fourth place finished against two sides who have unlimited funds (Manchester City and Chelsea) and Manchester United - one of the richest club's in the world - who had a manager who is the most successful in the Premier League era - and had just signed our best player.

Then there are those lot down the road who have assembled their best squad in years and in Gareth Bale have one of the best footballers in the league. Arguably we shouldn't have been anywhere near the top four. But this is football and there is always a chance - especially when you have a genius who manages our team.

I have to admit to being confident going into yesterday's game. We knew what we needed to do and we went to Tyneside with a plan. The team was unchanged from the one which beat Wigan on Tuesday night. The manager took a gamble on Mikel Arteta and it wasn't a surprise to see the Spaniard leave the field after 28 minutes.

Arsenal created little in the first half. We didn't have a single shot on target. The team looked nervous. But there were some excellent performances being displayed. I thought that Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny were fantastic and Theo Walcott was dangerous on the right.

It wasn't until the goal went in - man of the match Koscielny getting on the end of a Theo Walcott free kick and hooking the ball home - that our target look set to be achieved. We then had to see out the remaining 38 minutes.

Some resolute defending from the team ensured we achieved our target. It didn't matter that those lot down the road won their game. Destiny was in our hands. And as the final whistle went, everyone in the red half of north London could celebrate St Totteringham's Day finally.

There is plenty of time to discuss what the club needs to do this summer. That can wait for now. I want to bask in the glory of yet another top four finish.

That's it for today. Back with more tomorrow.

Follow @Ashburton_Grove on Twitter. To receive the blog everyday you can subscribe via e-mail or take the RSS feed to your favourite reader.

Wenger to make two changes -Gibbs and Cazorla target silverware

Morning Gooners

The final day of the season is upon us. 274 days of Premier League football since that sunny August day when we opened our campaign with a 0-0 with Sunderland at the Grove, today we end it by fighting for the right to play in the Champions League next season.

Destiny is in our own hands. Win and our place in the top four is secure. And that's all that I want. Three points. I don't care how they come about, I just want our position in the top four secure by 6pm. We've seen some gritty performances in recent weeks but once we went ahead against Wigan for the second time on Tuesday night the handbrake came off and we played some nice stuff.

This team should be confident of finishing the job. We know the fantastic form they've been in since our defeat at Stamford Bridge. Only one defeat on the other side of north London, three draws but 11 wins has seen has rise from sixth position to fourth, bridging a seven point gap with Spurs (who were fourth) to lead them by one and an 11 point gap with Chelsea (who were third), to trail them by one going into today's season finale.

Former captain Tony Adams has been speaking to the Sunday Mirror ahead of today's game.

He said:

"Newcastle will keep it tight. They will not want to lose ­heavily again in their last home match of the season. 

"There will not be much space about and Arsenal will have to work hard for every opening. However, they have the players to do that. 

"They have players who can create chances and find space, and I feel that will be enough to bring them the win they need.  

"Whenever I see Arsenal play, I fancy them to score goals, and that is important in a game like this one."

Team selection will be pretty much as it has been over the last few weeks. The one major injury concern as we know is Mikel Arteta, who the manager will speak to later to decide whether he'll be able to start this afternoon's game. If not, then Jack Wilshere will come into the team ahead of his ankle operation next week.

The only other change I'd expect the manager to make is upfront, with Olivier Giroud being recalled following his suspension in place of Lukas Podolski.

My team would be: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Arteta (Wilshere), Ramsey, Walcott, Rosicky, Cazorla, Giroud.

Two in today's expected starting line up have been speaking about this season and their ambitions for next.

Santi Cazorla said:

"The aim is to win trophies. This year we haven’t been able to, for various reasons. I hope next year will be another story. 

"We want to be fighting for the Premier League and all the tournaments we enter. We’re a great team and I’m sure we will.  

"What I’ve taken from this year is that we weren’t very consistent for half of the season, which cost us. Now we’re a lot more consistent and that’s the form we were lacking before."

While Kieran Gibbs speaking to the Sunday Times (£) said:

"Next season, should we keep everyone together and fit, we have the quality to [challenge for the title]. We have to push because they talk about us being a young team but before we know it, we're going to be 28 and it'll be, like, 'What have we done?'  

"If you start thinking, 'It's OK, I'm young, I'll do it next year, I've got time', before you know it, in football it's gone.  

"I was 19 four years ago and think, 'Where's that gone?' I feel I'm running out of time: 23 doesn't sound old but in a football career you're halfway. I've got to make sure I catch up and go on and do the things I want to do."

It's clear there is desire to do better next season. Provided we can keep everyone together in the squad, add a few quality additions and move on those who have failed to make an impact in Arsenal colours, we should be up there with those who have traditionally fought for the title.

Let's not kid ourselves, next season we've got a huge chance to make an impact in the title race, should we secure a top four place this afternoon and Champions League football next season. That will allow us to buy the type of players we need to challenge for the title.

Arsene Wenger is under no illusion as to the opportunity which is presenting itself to him with changes of managers at both Manchester clubs and Chelsea in the closed season.

He said:

"There is an opportunity for us. The change of manager might not work everywhere. So you can have a little advantage on some teams.  

"Although Jose Mourinho coming back doesn’t look to be a completely new experience, Pellegrini coming into a new country? It’s difficult, yes. It’s very difficult to predict how it will work.  

"It is also very important that we will be stable. Let’s finish well, then we’ll see. It will all depend on the Newcastle game."

And that's all we can focus on until the season is over. There is little transfer speculation around in today's Sunday papers involving Arsenal. Mainly because the target's names are well known. We've just got to do the business. And despite a win bonus for Newcastle's non-playing staff, we all know why Spurs supporting Mike Ashley has dangled that carrot...

I expect Arsenal to do the business this afternoon. And wouldn't it be wonderful if Chelsea didn't win, handing us third place on a plate. I know, wishful thinking!

That's it for today. Back with more tomorrow.

Follow @Ashburton_Grove on Twitter. To receive the blog everyday you can subscribe via e-mail or take the RSS feed to your favourite reader.

Winning Arsenal will turn up -Sanogo close -Wenger hints at two signings

Morning Gooners.

Yet again we're counting down the hours until the final match of the season. It seems silly because come 72 hours later we'll all be wanting our Arsenal back in action. However like most I can't wait for us to wrap this season up - ideally with us finishing in third place - meaning we don't have to face an excruciating Champions League qualifier in August if we finish fourth.

Finishing outside those of those two positions is not worth thinking about. And going into Sunday's game we should be confident of winning the game. We are top of the form league for the last six games away from home - winning five and losing the other. Of those five wins we've kept four clean sheets.

When I hear and read people say they wonder which Arsenal team will turn up at the weekend, my first reaction is to say... the winning one. We've conceded three goals in our last six league games - joint second in the table with Liverpool. Only Everton have a better record, letting in just one goal in the last six games.

We should be proud of  this team for turning the corner. Since the north London derby defeat we've made sure we closed the seven point gap and now destiny is in our hands. And while it would be nice for us to have qualification all wrapped up by now, there is something about having something still to play for on the final weekend of the season which gets the adrenalin going.

Arsene Wenger believes so too.

He said:

"Sometimes you think it would be nice to play without pressure but, after, you think let’s get it back because it’s so boring.  

"It would be worse to go to Newcastle with nothing at stake for us. We have what we wanted. Let’s do the job."

The Premier League are already preparing for the chance of a third place play off between ourselves and Chelsea should result conspire to mean we're forced to play them for a third time this season. The venue will be Villa Park on Sunday week. Kick off time to be announced.

Jack Wilshere believes we've got to take our recent form and just continue to play the way we have been at St James Park.

He told the official site:

"A few people have said that they [Newcastle] are alright now and are not fighting for relegation but they will be relaxed. They can play and enjoy their game and I'm sure their manager will say that to them. 

"We've got to be professional, do our job and get a few goals. We can't rely on Sunderland to do a job at Tottenham. We have to win the game and then we'll know where we will be."

Come 6pm, we'll know a little more about our Champions League involvement next season. I want us to be playing in Europe's elite football competition. It will help us attract players who will take us on, in turn giving us a better chance of challenging for the title. And it will also help us retain our best players and keep them happy.

Arsene Wenger has already said that he'll be able to sign one or two top quality players if the worse does happen... Signings which sound like they are closer to being done than just pure speculation.

He said:

"It’s easier to attract the players – top, top, top players – if you play in Champions League.  

"That’s part of the rule of the market. But, anyway, we have a good team and we will attract one or two players that we want no matter what happens."

Clearly Stevan Jovetic is a player who we are some way down the line with. The Florentina forward wants us to be in the Champions League before a deal will be done. There are another couple of snags which might derail the deal, but it appears to be all coming together.

Another deal which is on the verge of being done is with Yaya Sanogo, the manager said at his pre-match press conference yesterday.

He told the gathered journalists:

"We are advanced with him, but it is not done.  

"I am very confident. He is a young striker who is promising, and has a big talent."

On a free transfer, with only compensation to pay, for a 20-year-old who has been given rave reviews, I personally think it's a no brainer. I can't see him getting much first team action next season, but we know the manager's track record in developing raw talent and turning it into gems.

Sanogo has had a poor injury history but perhaps a fresh start might change that. At 20-years-old there is plenty of time ahead of him and there aren't many - if any - strikers of his age tearing up the Premier League.


And the Frenchman's signing isn't going to effect the signings we want to make for the first team next season. He'll just be an added member of our already depleted youth ranks.

That's it for today. Back with more tomorrow.

Follow @Ashburton_Grove on Twitter. To receive the blog everyday you can subscribe via e-mail or take the RSS feed to your favourite reader.

Wenger's plan for Arteta's absence -Rooney discussed at Arsenal scouting meeting

Morning Gooners.

It amazes me how quickly a season goes by... Where does nine months disappear to? This one has been especially enjoyable for me as I've been able to attend more away games and got my first taste of Arsenal in European action away from north London when I along with 3,600 other Gooners watch the impossible nearly happen at the Allianz Arena.

Of course along with all the good times, there have been the several downs. Going  to Stamford Bridge and watch us put in such a meek performance was disappointing. Then there was the draw at Southampton, which was a game we should have easily won.

I won't be in Newcastle for the final game but plan on being at my favourite Arsenal pub to celebrate St Totteringham's Day.

It seems the team news ahead of the weekend is as expected. The only player in doubt is Mikel Arteta with a calf strain  The Arsenal vice-captain has played in 33 league games for us this season, scoring six goals. He's clearly been an integral part of this side but we have learnt to win without him in the side, something which happened just once last season - our final game at West Brom.

Arsene Wenger does have options. Jack Wilshere must be a prime candidate for a recall. And if that were to happen I'd imagine that Aaron Ramsey would drop back into the deeper role and for Jack to take his place.

Wenger said:

"Mikel is an important player. In one game you can always compensate. It's more of a problem when a guy like that misses 10 games. 

"[For] one game, we will find the resources to do without him if we have to. I'm convinced we can because he was out for a while during the season and I played all sorts of combinations. 

"Arteta was out and we played Ramsey and Wilshere. A few times I played Coquelin, Diaby so we had a few combinations that could work."

We don't have the option of Diaby. Coquelin hasn't played since making a one minute cameo against West Brom last month. So the only viable option is Jack, who hasn't been at his best since returning from injury still is an outstanding talent.

The manager has sought to clarify his own position at the club. Writing in his blog for French Eurosport he said:

"The rumours about my future? I answered this question several times by saying that I have always respected my contract and I will continue to do so."

And finally, the Daily Mail report that Arsene Wenger, his coaching staff and scouts have discussed a move for Wayne Rooney. It's clear we're going to be going after some quality players this summer. I'm not sure that he'll be one of them, despite the manager's admiration of him.

That's it for today. back with more tomorrow.

Follow @Ashburton_Grove on Twitter. To receive the blog everyday you can subscribe via e-mail or take the RSS feed to your favourite reader.

Wenger's half time rocket revealed -Sagna's farewell lap -Galatasaray's cup involvement misjudged

Morning Gooners.

Sorry it's been a while, I've been hiding under a stone. I don't think I've been so stressed out by a football match as I was by the Wigan game.I just wasn't my usual positive self. Don't get me wrong, I never gave up my belief that we'd beat them but I really can't wait for this season to be over. It's added years to me!

I thought the atmosphere on Tuesday night was one of the best I've experienced at the Grove. There was so much vocal support for the team and the manager. It's crazy to think that this time last year there was infighting between supporters, the manager and the board were taking both barrels from some of our fans and the "spend some effing money" chant was evident at virtually every game.

To my mind it's changed because we all know that beating up this team isn't going to help anyone. Any negativity won't aid our cause in securing Champions League football. And while I'm not convinced the competition is the be all for us, I certainly don't want to be playing in the Europa League. I'd rather us not be in Europe at all. However that isn't an option for us.

We now have to go to Newcastle and win. A third place play off is a possibility if things go our way. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. But it would be nice not to have a Champions League qualifier to play in August.

Tuesday night's stand out player - apart from Santi Cazorla - was Theo Walcott. He's really stepped it up in the last three games with important goals and I thought his work rate was superb. Often he can be rightly criticised  for going missing in games, but he put in a fantastic display and to my mind should have had more than just a goal to his name.

The England international has spelled out how Arsene Wenger got the best from his players in the second half on Tuesday night.

He said:

"We got a rocket. We'll keep that in the dressing room. But it's great that the manager has that passion and it got a bit more out of the players. 

"We all knew how big it is, not just for the manager but the fans, the players and the club itself. It's massive to be in the Champions League. The manager gave us a kick up the backside. 

"I felt we did show some good play in the first half but we didn't manage to take our chances. Thankfully we did in the second."

Having hit his 21st goal of the season, I think we'd all agree that Theo has stepped up his game this season. Awarding him his contract was the correct thing to do and as he's developing still, we've not even got the finished article. I don't think playing him down the middle in the formation we are currently using plays to Theo's strengths and really playing as an out and out central striker is a non issue for me. He plays as a second striker at the moment, coming in from the right.

Arsene Wenger has always done right by Theo. And I can't see that not continuing.

As for the manager's rocket, well he's used it before. But there is no point in using it every game as you won't get the response you want.

Elsewhere, away from Tuesday's game, Bacary Sagna has been speaking about his future. At the moment it is unresolved with the France international only having one year remaining on his contract at the end of the season.


Sagna told French paper Le 10 Sport:

"Of course it makes me proud to read PSG are interested. They are a very attractive club.
"Personally I’ve not been approached by PSG. I don’t know if they have contacted my agent or if these are rumours.
"I don’t close any door. I could very well extend my contract here in London but equally I could leave at the end of the season. I only have one year left on my contract — we will see.
"At the moment I am fully focused on Arsenal. I don’t know what will happen this summer.
“I have to see the directors again regarding an extension to my contract. Monaco would be a new challenge. I don’t close any door to PSG, Monaco or Arsenal.
"At Arsenal, in the dressing room they tease me every day telling me I will leave to play at PSG. But it is speculation. I don’t know what is going to happen."

During the lap of appreciation, Sanga remained at the back of the group with his children. It looked as though he was saying his final farewells to the Gooners who had stayed behind to clap the players. Many will remember that Alex Song was moping around at the back of the group last year... a sign that Sanga is off?

I'd heard that there had been movement with the Frenchman's agent prior to his interview with Le 10 Sport to extend his contract. Arsenal were open to doing a deal with him which would see them offer him more than a one year extension. I'll guess that's one of the options he's currently mulling over.

And finally the clubs involved in this summer's Emirates Cup pre-season tournament have been announced and include Galatasaray. I really believe the club has misjudged the feeling among many Gooners towards the   Turkish champions.

I really hope the weekend goes off without any trouble. But I'm not sure I'll be there at the moment.

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