Arsenal winger Andrey Arshavin is training with Zenit St Petersburg ahead of a proposed £10million move back to the Russian side.

The 29-year-old endured a disappointing season at the Emirates and now manager Arsene Wenger is apparently ready to listen to offers for the star.

Arshavin scored only six goals in 37 appearances and fans are becoming tired of his lazy defensive displays and casual flicks.

The Russian international will return to his home city and train with his former club on Thursday in order to keep fit before a Euro 2012 qualifier against Armenia.

Zenit have been open in their desire to re-sign Arshavin who moved in February 2009 to North London for £15million.

The training will allow new coach Luciano Spalletti a close look at the player who turns 30 next week, but there are rumours Fenerbahce are keen on him too.

The Russian Super Cup holders are also keen on signing Chelsea left-back Yuri Zhirkov and Everton midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov.

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The Rumour

Roma coach Luciano Spalletti has declared he’s ready to sell Liverpool target Alberto Aquilani.

Liverpool see Aquilani as a potential replacement for Xabi Alonso, should the Spaniard make the move to Real Madrid this summer.

Spalletti said: “We have been quite expert in recent years following the departures of a number of our top players, and we have always managed to reorganise ourselves well. We would love to bring Aquilani back to the levels that he has shown he can reach, but there are a number of clubs interested in his services.

“If he should find a solution that is good for him and less so for the club, then a move is unlikely to go ahead. Either way the challenge remains the same as we look to regroup and compete on the same level as the top sides in Europe.”

The Source: (tribalfootball.com)

The Analysis

Depending on what paper you read or indeed what website you visit this speculation has been described variously as Ill informed to plausible and at times the Serie A club’s own chairman has claimed that this is a non-story. However here we have Roma’s manager seemingly making it clear that a deal could be struck to sell Alberto Aquilani, so what should we believe?

Xabi Alonso’s future at Liverpool seems a little more stable simply because as each day passes it appears more likely he is happy to stay or simply that Real Madrid are refusing to up their offer and clearly the Spaniard’s situation greatly affects any chance of a deal to sign the Italian.

Either way the Stadio Olimpico side needs money and that is what most fuels this story. It seems that they need to sell at least one major player to balance the books and make up for the fact that they failed to qualify for the Champions League, right now the two players most likely to help ease their financial worries are Aquilani and Mirko Vucinic who coincidentally also seems to be linked with a move to Anfield, although I believe that move is pure paper talk where as this one has a little more meat on the bone.

The Likelihood

Aquilani to Liverpool: This rumour will not go away until Alonso’s own future is decided.

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The Rumour

Cash-strapped Roma are bracing themselves for a bid from Liverpool for star midfielder Alberto Aquilani.

La Repubblica says Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez sees Aquilani as an ideal replacement for want-away midfield schemer Xabi Alonso.

Roma officials are convinced Liverpool will make their offer either tomorrow or Thursday and know they have little room to maneuver given the club’s cashflow problems.

An offer in the region of £18 million from Liverpool will be enough to land Aquilani.

The Source: (La Repubblica as reported on tribalfootball.com)

The Analysis

I am pretty sure no Liverpool fans want to see Xabi Alonso leave the club but is looking increasingly likely that this may well happen in the next few weeks and as a result many potential replacements have been highlighted by the media and this latest one would be a pretty good like for like stand in for the Spaniard.

The 25 year old Italian international has been a mainstay of the Roma midfield for a number of years and has been at the Stadio Olimipico since he was 15, and even though he only just signed a long term contract, ironically to keep him from leaving the club, it appears that Rafa is very much interested in signing the intelligent midfielder.

Luciano Spalletti will struggle to keep Aquilani given the fact that the Rome outfit are so far off the leading pack in Serie A, they finished 21 points short of Inter last season, and also missed out on a Champions League berth and it could therefore be hard to persuade the local born lad that he can fulfill his potential at a side who seem to be moving backwards.

The Likelihood

Aquilani to Liverpool: Would be an ideal replacement and the price seems about right.

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Giallorossi coach Luciano Spaletti has revealed that his side are tracking Liverpool’s Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun as they look to wrestle the Scudetto from Inter’s grasp. Spaletti is keen to deal with Liverpool again, having signed left-back John Arne Riise earlier this summer, telling Gazzetta Dello Sport:

There will be two new signings.

The names? They’re the names you’ve heard. [Monaco's Jeremy] Menez and Benayoun are both top class players.

However, Benayoun has played down reports of a move, insisting he is happy in Merseyside:

It is not true that I am about to leave Anfield. I see my future at Anfield.

I want to stay and that is what will happen.

If Rafa were willing to let him go, which he may since he uses him so sparingly, it would free up squad-space and funds for Liverpool to finally capture Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry. With Leto having moved to Olympiakos and unavailable for two years, the time might be right to step up the chase for the England international.

If Rafa does keep him, and signs Barry as well, will the Israeli be so keen to stay where playing time is already so limited?

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What is it about working in a pressure-cooker environment under the watchful eye of an impatient ruthless Russian oligarch that seems to put managers off? Plus working with Kenyon to grow the brand must be a really pleasant experience too.

Chelsea’s managerial search lurched further into chaos last night as Roma boss Luciano Spalletti became the latest man to turn his back on the job.

While bookmakers offer odds on who will be next Chelsea manager, maybe a more pertinent market would be to have prices about which man will reject the Champions League runners-up instead!