FOOTBALL:Arsene: I’ll carry on spending

 

 

ARSENE WENGER is ready to take his spending for the summer to over £40million for the summer — whether Robin Van Persie stays or leaves the club.

Arsenal are now confident of landing £16million Malaga winger Santi Corzola and will make a bid in the next 48 hours.
Cazorla, 27, who played for Spain twice at Euro 2012, is keen to join the Gunners and would become the club’s third signing of the summer.
Lukas Podolski arrived from Cologne for £11m and Montpellier striker Olivier Giroud joined for £12.8m.
But before watching his team score two late goals to win their first tour of the Far East 2-1 against a Malaysia XI, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis told Wenger he could continue to chase more targets over the next two weeks.
Despite insisting otherwise, Wenger still wants Rennes £17m-rated midfielder Yann M’Vila as he is unconvinced over the fitness of injury-jinxed Abou Diaby.
Wenger is also set to pursue 17-year-old striker M’Baye Niang who plays for French club Caen although he has already seen a £6m bid rejected.
Arsenal’s squad took a six-hour flight to Beijing after last night’s game ahead of a friendly with Manchester City on Friday and they also play a game in Hong Kong on Sunday.
On returning to London on Monday, Wenger will meet again with 28-year-old want-away skipper Van Persie.
Wenger wants the situation sorted by August 18 but has told Gazidis he would prefer to know by the end of next week whether the club will sell.
Wenger wants an answer despite what offers suitors Manchester City, Juventus and Manchester United make.
But Wenger is understood to have been given a boost that, finally, he will be allowed to strengthen a squad which still needs improving if they are to stand any sort of chance of finishing in the top two.
Arsenal are also increasingly confident that Theo Walcott, despite interesting Chelsea and Arsenal, will sign a new contract as he has just one year left of his current deal.
Wenger watched his team recover from a goal down to win their opening match here in Asia.
Mohamad Azmi Muslim struck a stunning goal from 25 yards in first half injury time.
Thomas Eisfeld, a substutite for Theo Walcott, struck in the 87th minute after good work from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain before Chuks Aneke grabbed an unlikely winner two minutes later.
Wenger played two completely different teams with keeper Vito Mannone the only player to remain on the field.
The Emirates boss said: “We played with two different sides and both did well. The first half was more significant because the game was played at a higher pace.
“It was a good work-out for us against a good team. The result was less important. We got the quality of game we wanted and that was very positive.
Overall it was a good game and we go home without an injury.
“We still have a lot of work to do. We are far from what we can produce. We are far away physically from where we want to be. Technically and tactically, there is still work for us to do. But the pitch wasn’t easy and the pace of Malaysia was good.
“Don’t forget some of these players have only trained for two or three days before the games, others four and the maximum was seven days training.
“Theo was one of the players with only two days of training and I planned to give only 25 minutes to him or Chamberlain. I felt Theo was suffering a bit more than Chamberlain and chose to take him off.”