Arsenal are set to lose yet another midfielder this summer, as Barcelona confirm they have agreed a £12million deal with the Gunners to bring one of their key players to La Liga.

Alexander Hleb is set to arrive in Spain on Wednesday to complete a medical at the Camp Nou and conclude his long-running saga to leave the Emirates Stadium. The deal will not represent a significant profit for Arsenal, who spent £11.2 million to bring Hleb to London in 2005.

Barca’s official website broke the news:

The player Alexander Hleb, who has spent the past three seasons at Arsenal, arrives today in Barcelona to undergo a medical prior to his incorporation in FC Barcelona.

On the assumption that he passes these tests satisfactorily, Alexander Hleb could sign a contract tomorrow and be presented as a new player at FC Barcelona.

The move will bring the spending spree of new Barca manager, Pep Guardiola, to an incredible £76 million, around €95 million, having already spent £6m on Manchester United’s Gerard Pique, £8m on Palmeiras’ Henrique, £13m on Villareal’s Martin Caceres and £34.5m on Sevilla duo Seydou Keita and Daniel Alves.

The Belarussian’s departure leaves Arsene Wenger’s midfield looking light after the transfers of Matthieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva. Granted, Samir Nasri and Amaury Bischoff are set to arrive, but Arsenal are also losing valuable experience with the leaving senior players. Perhaps it could push Wenger to spend big on luring £18 million-valued Gareth Barry away from Villa Park.

What are fans thoughts on the mini-midfield exodus from Arsenal? Is there anyone you’d like to replace Flamini, Gilberto and now, Hleb?

Well I never. There are many Premier League clubs who I thought might lodge a bid for this player, but not Arsenal. [Read the rest of this entry »]

There is more chance of Spurs finishing in the top four next season, than Arsenal agreeing to quadruple this player’s salary. [Read the rest of this entry »]

The Gunners might not have won any silverware last season, although some of their dazzling performances in Europe seems to have cost them dear, according to manager Arsene Wenger. [Read the rest of this entry »]

You might expect Arsene Wenger to be backing Cesc Fabregas’ Spain to win this summer’s tournament, although [Read the rest of this entry »]

Mathieu Flamini buggered off to Milan as soon as he got the chance, and it’s nigh-on certain that Alexander Hleb and Emmanuel Adebayor will be joining him out of the exit door. Should Arsenal fans be worried? [Read the rest of this entry »]

Amidst the speculation surrounding Emmanuel Adebayor and Alexander Hleb’s Arsenal future, [Read the rest of this entry »]

Perhaps Cesc Fabregas will get his hands on some silverware this season after all. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Adios to Emmanuel Adebayor and Alexander Hleb this summer? [Read the rest of this entry »]

Quite a statement from Robin Van Persie, who is clearly not a man short of confidence [Read the rest of this entry »]

We’re sure that Alexander Hleb will be ‘furious’ with the latest press speculation surrounding his future. [Read the rest of this entry »]

The Gunners managed to head Milan off at the pass by slapping a hefty price tag on the head of Emmanuel Adebayor. However, there now appears to be another club in the running, where price might be less of an object. [Read the rest of this entry »]

The summer of 2008 will almost certainly not be remembered as ‘The Hunt for Aaron Ramsey’, but it did leave Manchester United with egg on their face [Read the rest of this entry »]

Although you would imagine that the Gunners will have some pretty stiff competition, if indeed they are interested in landing David Villa this summer. The Valencia striker is arguably Europe’s hottest striking property at the moment after plundering a hat-trick for Spain on Tuesday night, and Setanta report that Cesc Fabregas is getting positively excited at the prospect of the striker wearing the red of Arsenal next season.

“He would be amazing for the English league,” Fabregas said.

“I would like to have him in my team because as you can see he can make the difference.

“He’s an amazing player. He has mobility, he scores goals … he plays well at the back of defenders, in front of them, he’s a tremendous player.”

Indeed, while all the talk before the match was about Fernando Torres, the Liverpool man was more of a provider than scorer during their 4-1 win against Russia. Still, it was encouraging for Reds fans to see El Nino frighten the opposition defence with his pace, something they’ll hope he continues next season.

It’s clear that many of the Gunners squad are still carrying the mental scars incurred last season, when they let a sizeable lead at the top of the Premier League slip during the months of February and March, to leave the club potless by the end of the campaign. Arsenal players such as William Gallas, Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie will attempt to help their countries win Euro 2008 to try and compensate, with the latter especially frustrated by the previous domestic campaign.

The Daily Mirror reports that the striker is keen for the Dutch to continue their good form after thrashing Italy 3-0, rather than have a few dazzling displays and then nothing to show for it, a la Arsenal last season.

“We played some great football and it reminded me of the football we play at Arsenal because we have an amazing counter-attack at the Emirates as well,” said the 24-year-old frontman.

“But at Arsenal this season it was so frustrating. We deserved to win at least something for the football we played, but we lost a little bit of momentum at one stage – away at Birmingham, for instance, when we lost two points.

“Those weeks in February and March were quite tough and that was when we lost it. It was a small period but it’s a thin line between winning or losing.

“For me, I can put that right a little bit by winning with my country. This is the chance for me to end the season on a big high, because I’m desperate to win something, to play in a final and win it. We want to show you can win a big title like this playing great football.”

Sadly, there are going to be some disappointed players this summer, with Germany, Spain, Holland and Portugal all laying claims to the Euro 2008 crown after decent opening game performances. Perhaps at least one or two Arsenal players can experience success, rather than being the bridesmaid.

Some might argue that Theo Walcott hasn’t made a great deal of progress since leaving Southampton for Arsenal, although there are countless examples of Arsene Wenger signing a player and helping them progress into a world-class talent. Take Cesc Fabregas for example, or Kolo Toure. Maybe Thierry Henry instead, or Emmanuel Adebayor. Will Aaron Ramsey be a star of the future, or even next season, after agreeing terms with the Gunners according to the BBC?

Aaron Ramsey has joined Arsenal from FA Cup finalists Cardiff City in a £5m deal, BBC Sport understands.

Champions League winners Manchester United and Premier League giants Everton were also fighting to sign the 17-year-old Welsh wonderkid.

But Ramsey has chosen Arsenal after the Gunners flew him out to Switzerland for face-to-face talks with boss Arsene Wenger, who is at Euro 2008.

Cardiff confirmed that Arsenal was the “best cash offer” for the young star.

Once the midfielder was on that plane, Arsenal moved firmly into the driving seat to sign him, although it remains to be seen as to whether he plays much of a role next season or instead farmed out on loan to glean some Premier League first-team experience.

Perhaps a little unwisely, Alex McLeish claims that the broken leg suffered by Eduardo in February had a negative effect on Birmingham City, and was part of the reason why they were relegated from the Premier League – as well as not being very good.

The Express and Star report that Big Eck acknowledges that the horrific injury to the Croatian put a severe dent in the Gunners’ season, although cites the incident as a turning point for Martin Taylor and the rest of the Blues team. Quite whether anyone will have a degree of sympathy for this club is open to question, especially given the emotionally-charged accusations that followed immediately after the challenge.

He said: “It was a factor here at Birmingham City, absolutely. Martin Taylor had played very solidly for a few games in the Premier League.

“He was affected as much as Arsenal FC were and we were affected by losing him.

“When he came back I didn’t think Taylor was quite himself. He played against Wigan and it wasn’t the Martin who had been playing before the Eduardo incident.

“Our other centre-half, Liam Ridgewell, must have played with five different partners last season. The one thing you see with the good teams, like Manchester United, is that their back four is pretty much the same.”

Most Arsenal fans were delighted to see the back of Birmingham City last season and won’t be wishing them a speedy recovery from relegation to the Championship. Especially as Eduardo was denied this and played no further part in the Gunners’ season, nor Euro 2008 for Croatia.

Anything that Cristiano Ronaldo can do, so can Emmanuel Adebayor, according to his biggest fan – himself! Never mind the speculation surounding the Togolese striker’s potential move to Milan, the Gunners number 25 insists that he’s stayng put at The Emirates and plans to make it a season to remember next term.

Setanta report that Arsenal is the only place for Adey right now, despite being offered a more lucrative wage elsewhere.

“I scored 30 goals last season and I can get 40 next time,” he told the Daily Star. “I am happy and I love scoring.

“We want to do well after last time. We will do everything to win things next season. In our heads we want to win.”

Adebayor’s slump in front of goal last season saw the Gunners go on a five-match winless run, which effectively brought their title challenge to an end. However, in fairness, he’d be heaped with a whole pile of goalscoring responsibility throughout the season, especially with injuries to Van Persie and Eduardo.

According to Goal.com, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are doing what they do quite often: competing. This time, however, they are competing in the boardroom, as opposed to the pitch.

“Arsenal and North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur are being linked with a possible move for highly-rated young Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey. Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey is reported by several media sources be a target for both Arsenal and Spurs after demonstrating during the 2007-08 season for both club and country that he is a top prospect. Some reports suggest Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is mulling over an £8 million bid, though others put Hennessey’s price at closer to £5million.”

While I would be shocked if Spurs or Arsenal would pull the trigger for £8 mil, I would not be shocked to see either team keep tabs on the Welsh international. He did have a great year for Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers. He kept 21 clean sheets last season and was voted in as the keeper for the Professional Footballers’ Association Team of the Year (Championship).

This move seems to make more sense for Spurs, as they are in much more need of a goalkeeper. Boss Juande Ramos has made it painfully clear that he has zero faith in Paul Robinson. With Radek Cerny moving on to QPR, Spurs could definitely use the services of young Hennessey. Though his value has fluctuated in the papers, Spurs’ top choice Joe Hart could cost the club between £8 and £10 million. If that turns out to be the actual figure, Hennessey would be cheaper, but far less proven than City’s Hart.

For Arsenal, it casts doubt about how strong Wenger’s faith is in his current goalkeeper Manuel Almunia. With long-time Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann moving on to the Bundesliga, Almunia’s lone backup will be promising young keeper Lukasz Fabianski. I doubt Wenger would buy another expensive keeper, unless he does not see either Almunia or Fabianski as long-term contributors. Though I may be more sold on Fabianski than some, I doubt he is willing to give up on him already. If they were to sign Hennessey, I don’t see Almunia being at the Emirates for the long-term.

Though this might just be paper talk, I see Spurs pursuing him much more seriously than the Gunners, because they have a much more pressing need at keeper. That being said, I still think he is only strongly considered if Spurs lose out on, or are priced out of, the Joe Hart/ Allan McGregor sweepstakes.

It’s clear that the Gunners got shot of Fredrik Ljungberg at exactly the right time. Injuries were beginning to take their toll on the Swede and, despite Arsenal offering him a one-year-deal last summer, the winger instead moved to West Ham on a lucrative contract and immediately got friendly with the physio team at Upton Park. Despite all this, the Daily Mail report that Ljungberg is still chomping his way through sour grapes by claiming that Arsene Wenger forced him to play while injured among other things.

He said: “It’s all about my injuries. Wenger simply doesn’t like those who show a weakness. With him, you generally feel as if you were in the army – it’s only in public that he may appear to be some sort of man of liberal views. In reality, his belief is natural selection. The truth is I picked up a knock doing my job and following Wenger’s instructions. I always played like this and, at some point, ran out of luck.

“So while I was being treated for the injury, they went out and found a different player for my position.

“After I recovered, I was given a chance in the typical Wenger way: I was expected to run and intercept and score just the same as before. He just didn’t give me enough time to do it properly. I had no time.”

“And also I still feel a bit offended about Arsenal. They showed the door to too many people. Why did they let Thierry Henry go? When I found out about his move, I realised that the Arsenal I used to play for was finished.

“So I went to West Ham in order to play against Arsenal as often as possible. I wanted to prove that Freddie Ljungberg hadn’t had his last word as a player. And at West Ham, no one gives you a puzzled look if you get called up for your national team and players are never asked to play on injections.

“I would like to stay there – if they offer of course.”

I’m sure West Ham fans will be delighted to hear that Ljungberg’s primary motivation for signing at Upton Park was the opportunity to play against Arsenal last season! It’s a shame that the player has to continue bad mouthing his former club in such a way, especially as he must have so many happy memories of turning out for the Gunners.