Arsene Wenger has ruled out signing Valencia's Juan Mata, and claimed that any deal for Shakthar Donetsk's attacking midfielder Jadson is "nowhere" near being completed as both Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas move closer to being sold by Arsenal.
All four bites of news will be unwelcome to Arsenal, as they search for at least two midfielder's to replace the now very likely departing pair of Nasri and Fabregas to Manchester City and Barcelona respectively.
Arsene Wenger was clearly not very enthused by the news that a deal for Mata, who was said to be very close only a few weeks ago had suddenly broken down beyond repair. The Arsenal manager didn't give a reason for the deal now being dead, but only confirmed it:
"We will not do (a deal for) Juan Mata. I don't have to give a reason."
In the past week, Arsenal were said to have agreed a deal with Ukranian side Shakhtar Donetsk over the Brazilian 27 year-old Jadson, with the Independent reporting as if the player was already an Arsenal signing. However, Wenger has dismissed this, leaving Arsenal fans feeling even more pessimistic as the new season approaches. Wenger said:
"We are nowhere near on Jadson. We are not talking to Shakhtar about him."
On Fabregas, Barcelona's manager Pep Guardiola seemed confident that the deal is close to completion, saying that the chances of signing the Spanish midfielder are "good":
"The prospects are good, but he’s still an Arsenal player. Otherwise I would confirm it."
Nasri's move to Manchester City looks a certainty, with talks at a very advances stage, and some reports stating that he has already agreed a deal with Arsenal's future title rivals.
Wenger also gave the usual spiel about why it's so hard to find a defender who fits his requirements. One can't help but think it's simply an excuse not to spend, and to avoid the overriding issue with Arsenal:
"We have specialised people who work everywhere. Every club looks for centre-backs in the whole world."
"People with unlimited resources look for a centre-back. We are not in a supermarket where you go to a shelf and you ask 'where are the centre-backs or the strikers?"
"We are today in an international market where all over the world people look for the same players. Massive clubs have scouts all over the world and if they don't find anyone, in the end they come to us. You don't need to be a genius to understand that."
"We will have a new centre-back by the end of the transfer window because Thomas Vermaelen only played five games last year. To buy just for the sake of buying - you won't find me there. If I'm convinced the player has the quality, I will always do it if he's better than the players we have."
However, Arsenal can take some good news from all of these downbeat stories of failed bids and outgoing stars. Apparently, the Arsenal board will give Arsene Wenger all, or most of the money made from the sales of Nasri and Fabregas, so the manager can bring in some top quality replacements.
Will Wenger invest? If he doesn't, you can't help but think that Arsenal could be in trouble this season, as clubs around them spend millions to keep themselves in those all important top four positions.
