Emirates Stadium boss gets the backing of owner Stan Kroenke and lines up moves for quality additions to his Gunners squad.
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Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke will back under fire boss Arsene Wenger with a huge transfer warchest and the North London club are readying moves for a number of targets including a world class pair who could help bring an end to the Gunners lengthy lean spell.
The Daily Mail claim that the club’s American owner is scheduled to meet Wenger for talks today and is expected to lend his complete support to the Frenchman who has come in for some stinging criticism following his side’s FA Cup defeat to Blackburn Rovers which was followed by a 3-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League encounter.
Arsenal reportedly have £150m in the bank and heir coffers will be further swelled when the £150m, five-year deal with kit sponsor Emirates begins this summer.
Kroenke is apparently ready to make a large transfer warchest available to Wenger in the hope that he can lure big names to the club as they look to drastically improve a squad that has failed to put in a consistent run of form together this term, which could threaten the club’s push for a Champions League berth.
Among a lengthy list of targets Wenger has his sights set on a world class trio who could well help convert his side from one that is seemingly satisfied with a top four finish as the sum total of their ambition into one that can genuinely challenge for major honours.
Pepe Reina is on Arsenal’s summer wish-list and the experienced Spanish keeper is perhaps a player Wenger is growing more and more keen on landing following a succession of uninspired displays from young Polish international Wojciech Szczesny.
It may prove tricky to persuade the 30 year old to bring an end to his eight year spell at Anfield and there is also apparent interest from Barcelona with the Nou Camp side keen on their former player as a possible replacement for contract rebel Victor Valdes.
Reina has a mountain of Premier League experience and could well be more likely to consider a move to the Emirates Stadium if Arsenal have Champions League football to offer and Liverpool don’t.
You can never have enough creative midfielders it seems. Though Arsenal have a host of quality playmakers, including the likes of Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky to name just four, German international Mario Gotze continues to be linked with interest from the Premier League side.
If his Borussia Dortmund side see their Bundesliga crown taken by Bayern Munich then perhaps the 20 year old will entertain notions of leaving Westfalenstadion and a move to join Arsenal could tempt Gotze if he feels that under Wenger’s tutelage he could further deliver on his obvious potential.
Gotze has already racked up over 100 appearances for Dortmund, guiding them to two domestic titles, and has 20 caps to his name and is still some months shy of his 21st birthday.
Stevan Jovetic is another world-class talent on Wenger’s list of potential targets and the cultured Fiorentina forward may feel a move to Arsenal could help progress his career.
There is no denying that under Vincenzo Montella La Viola are moving along nicely but the 23 year old Montenegrin international could feel that at the Gunners he could take his career up a notch, especially if he was being groomed by Arsenal to play a pivotal role in their attack.
The Daily Mail also names Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama and Toulouse’s Etienne Capoue as Arsenal targets.