Arsenal are now in pole position to land Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye after PSG pulled out of the race to sign him.

Paris had been the hot favourites to get Cabaye’s signature due to their ridiculous available funds, meaning they could offer anything Newcastle wanted. Coupled with a hefty pay-packet, Cabaye would be playing Champions League football with numerous French internationals.

Transfer roundabout

However the PSG deal relied on the transfer of wonderkid Marco Verratti, who handed in a transfer request earlier on in the window. The 20-year-old sensation then received a massive new contract offer and all of a sudden he was staying at Parc des Princes, leaving no need for a replacement.

He would have brought in yet more funds as clubs such as Real Madrid and Manchester United were interested in the youngster, freeing up the transfer fee for Newcastle’s man.

This, hopefully, leaves Arsenal as frontrunners unless Cabaye chooses to stay in the North East.

No second bid

Yet contrary to popular belief, and according to Newcastle boss Alan Pardew, no second bid has come out of the Emirates. It had been thought that Wenger would improve to initial ‘derisory’ £10million bid in the hope of landing the midfielder, yet Pardew claimed that no such thing has happened.

He even claimed that Cabaye could start for the Magpies on Saturday against West Ham, as well as ruling out any move for full-back Mathieu Debuchy to PSG.

Pricey

Pardew also claimed sensationally that Cabaye would be going nowhere unless someone came up with their £25million valuation of the player. This dwarfs the £10million first bid made by Wenger and also dwarfs the chances of signing him.

If Wenger wont cough up £17million for a Brazilian international in Luis Gustavo, he’s unlikely to pay over the odds for Cabaye.

The Newcastle boss, who watched his side thrashed 4-0 by Manchester City on Monday, also claimed that Cabaye was “one of the best in the world” and put him in the same bracket as Michael Carrick and Javier Mascherano.

Contrasting reports claim that Newcastle are after £20million for the Frenchman, but either way Wenger will need to vastly improve on their first offer, as the search for new players goes on.

Other rumours have emerged about Karim Benzema, Angel di Maria and Micah Richards, however Cabaye (if the price tag is diminished) could be Arsenal’s best bet.

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