Wenger plays hardball

Thomas Vermaelen may be Arsenal’s sole purchase during the current transfer window as Saint Etienne’s valuation of star midfielder Blaise Matuidi differs from Arsene Wenger’s, and the Gunners’ boss is not prepared to pay £8 million for the player he deems to be a new version of the talismanic Patrick Vieira.

Arsenal typically leave their transfer dealings late in the window, and now that Champions League football has been secured, and the Manchester United game is a thing of the past, there are few distractions for Wenger in his search for reinforcements.

The club, however, attempted to bring in late deals last summer, notably for Gokhan Inler and Xabi Alonso, but again, differing valuations proved to be the stumbling point for any subsequent switch. (Goal.com)

Matuidi is a player who Arsene Wenger clearly admires and it seems that we are playing a game of who blinks first with Saint Etienne. The battling midfielder has been compared to the great Patrick Vieira and I always wince when I hear them and am pretty sure Paddy does also.

We could do with an extra central midfielder on the periphery and Blaise would be a relatively cheap option. Both Denilson and Alexander Song have done fantastically well this season but another option to play alongside Cesc Fabregas wouldn’t go amiss.


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