A delicious triumvirate of bad news stories, as far as Arsenal are concerned, begins with the news that Cesc Fabregas has reportedly stated on Spanish radio that he will not leave Barcelona this summer.
The former Arsenal captain has been seeking assurances from Tito Vilanova over his future, and appears to have received them. Fabregas is quoted as saying:
‘I’m very happy at Barca, and I want to stay for many more years to come.’
He said much the same when quizzed a couple of months ago, and the source for these quotes, Radio Catalunya, does not have a record of any such interview on its website.
However, general agreement is that Fabregas will not consider leaving until next season. Arsenal are favourites if that happens, however.
Not for sale
In a spectacular U-turn, Fiorentina’s president has stated that Stevan Jovetic is not for sale. Despite confirming his desire to leave and negotiations with other teams previously, their position has apparently completely reversed, meaning Arsenal and Juventus will have to look elsewhere.
This sounds more like a bluffing manoeuvre, used to hurry up negotiations. Fiorentina will accept no less than £25m for the forward, and with Arsenal trying to negotiate down the price, and Juventus offering a pittance along with traded players, that isn’t forthcoming. Hence the sudden change of heart, such as that is.
The president’s exact words were:
"We have been clear about Jovetic. He is not on the market. There is a word given to the boy by the president: at the end of the season they would talk together, but those are the conditions, otherwise we keep him happy.”
Jovetic likely wants to leave, but his club aren’t afraid to keep him if they don’t get the right money for him.
Hands off
The Sun really don’t know when to give up. After falsely reporting that Arsene Wenger’s contract was optional for next season, and being banned from Arsenal press conferences as a result, they then repeatedly linked Lukas Podolski with a move away until the player himself stated he would not leave and all reports were nonsense.
However, they quote an ‘Arsenal insider’ who is apparently concerned the defender wants to move to Bayern:
"Laurent is aware of Bayern's interest and has talked about it with other players. No one knows how it will end up but anything is possible."
"It's worrying because it's a very attractive option for him to sign for the Champions League winners, who will have Pep Guardiola as manager next season."
With all due respect to the Sun, they don’t have an insider at Arsenal. They’re banned from the training ground, and any Arsenal officials wouldn’t speak to them. The quotes are likely fabricated, purely to incite fear in Arsenal fans, who don’t want another summer of key players leaving.
I don’t doubt moving to Bayern will be an attractive prospect for Koscielny, but he’s got 4 years left on his contract, the mooted fee of £15m is insulting, and he’s spoken of his desire to stay and win trophies with Arsenal.
There’s something in the story, but not like the Sun are trying to spin it.
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