Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has come out today and crushed reports that Arsenal could well sign Asier Illarramendi, stating that the young midfielder is a part of his plans.

It was reported earlier that Arsenal were in the running to sign the Spaniard. It was reported that Illaramendi welcomed a move to Arsenal, hoping they would put in a bid for him, following his dissatisfaction of a possible move to Athletic Club Bilbao.

According to The Metro, Arsenal have fended off interest from Manchester United and are now on the cusp of signing Villarreal’s Gabriel Paulista.

The North London side have been in discussions for some time over a move for the young Brazilian however recent reports claimed that Manchester United were planning on hijacking the apparent bid.

According to newspaper The Mirror today, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is keen to sign Fiorentina shot stopper Norberto Neto from under the nose of Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool.

The Brazilian has been linked with a move to the Premier League during Simon Mingolet’s rocky patch with the Reds towards the end of last year and has since been on Rodgers’ list for January.

Spanish newspaper Marca have today reported that Arsenal have made an offer for Real Madrid star Asier Illarramendi.

This comes off the news yesterday that Real Madrid had beaten Arsenal to the punch, over the signature for Cruzeiro midfielder Lucas Silva. Real Madrid had a bid of around €13million accepted for the midfielder following successful negotiations. This imminent signing has more or less spelled the end of Illarramendi’s time at the Bernabeu.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has given an update and latest news for his team’s trip to Brighton for the FA Cup fourth round tie.

Arsenal have taken a few knocks in recent weeks with injuries and it appears that some players are still to recover.