set to up the ante in the race to
sign Robin Van Persie, after the
Dutchman returned to London
for more crunch talks with
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
and chief executive Ivan Gazidis,
according to the Sunday Mirror.
The Arsenal captain last week
revealed that he will not renew
his contract with the club, but
Wenger and Gazidis want to
speak to him without
interference from his agent Kees
Vos, to establish if there is any
chance of keeping him in London
until the end of his contract.
Manchester City are yet to
formally announce their interest
in adding 29-year-old Van Persie
to their already strong squad,
and it is believed they will not
pay over-the-odds for a man
with a poor injury record and
with little resale value.
The Premier League champions
are also looking to offload
former Gunner Emmanuel
Adebayor before launching any
bid for the Dutchman and, as
Goal.com exclusively revealed on
Saturday, they are hoping to sell
the Togo international to
Tottenham for a bargain £5
million.
Although City have kept quiet on
any pursuit of Van Persie, former
Emirates favourite Kolo Toure
and Mario Balotelli have declared
they would like to see him join
them in Manchester. It is also
believed Nigel de Jong has been
encouraging his international
team-mate to join the Citizens.
Italian champions Juventus are
also set to step up their efforts to
capture the Gunners captain, and
believe they stand a better
chance than City as they are not a
domestic rival.
Manchester United and Paris
Saint-Germain are also keeping
tabs on the situation, whilst club
insiders are also wary of a
potential bid from Jose
Mourinho's Real Madrid.
Meanwhile Wenger is also
looking to ensure another
transfer battle does not develop
over forward Theo Walcott, who
is out of contract at the end of
next season. The England
international is said to be a
target for London rivals Chelsea.
In a week of bad news for
Wenger, there has been a slight
cause for a smile however with
Arsenal fans giving the
Frenchman a big vote of
confidence.
The Arsenal Supporters Trust are
set to reveal figures that 80 per
cent of their members believe
62-year-old Wenger is doing a
good job with the club, a
dramatic rise from the previous
campaign where 42% said he
had taken the club as far as he
could.
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