Lo and behold, Arsenal could be about to do something interesting in the transfer market. Arsène Wenger wants Xabi Alonso to form a Spanish midfield axis with Cesc Fábregas at Arsenal next season, reckons the Guardian.

Don’t forget to check out Online Football Manager!

The only catch is he doesn’t want to pay very much.

Apparently, Arsenal have made initial enquiries about 26-year-old Alonso, whose first-team prospects at Anfield are threatened by the expected arrival of Gareth “snore” Barry.

The trouble is, Rafa’s insisting on a similar fee for Alonso, as he attempts to help Hicks and Gillett balance the books. Benítez’s price tag, alas, is deterring Wenger who values the player at closer to £10.5m - the figure Liverpool paid Real Sociedad for him four years ago.

“I don’t think it will be easy [for him to leave Liveprool],” Benítez told reporters in Glasgow on Saturday after the Spanish midfielder scored a penalty in the Reds’s 4-0 demolition of Rangers. “The value of Alonso in the market will be really high. We are really pleased with him and we don’t want him to go unless we get a very good price.”

For much of the summer, it looked like Liverpool intended to sell Alonso to Juventus to finance Barry’s transfer, but Juve switched targets leaving the club short of cash and Alonso in limbo-land.
Popular with many fans, could Arsène Wenger be about to offer the classy midfielder a way out of his Anfield nightmare?

Watch Arsenal live online

Watch Liverpool live online