The transfer window may have slammed shut last Friday but that doesn’t prevent Arsenal being in the news regarding players who may join or exit the club in the summer.
Three players are involved in today’s reports and could be the start of a joke as we discuss an Englishman, German and Frenchman walking into a pub. Ok not a pub but maybe walking in or out of the Emirates.
More contract talks
The first involves France and Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna who is having fresh talks with the club over a new contract to try and keep him at the club.
That is according to the Daily Mirror, they believe Arsène Wenger is desperate to keep Sagna after tying down Per Mertesacker recently.
Sagna will turn 31 next week and wants a three-year deal but the Gunners are only interested in offering him a contract for two years.
The French defender has interest from the Middle East and Galatasaray and other European clubs. However, it remains to be seen whether the club will budge on their previous offers.
Former Gunner set to return?
On the subject of defenders out of contract at the end of the season, a sensational move for Chelsea’s Ashley Cole is apparently being lined up by Arsenal.
Cole, a former Gunner, has found himself down the pecking order this season at Chelsea and the Metro report that the Daily Mail have strong reason to believe a move back to north London is on the cards.
They add that Wenger has discussed his return with club officials and remains a huge fan of the England left-back.
It would certainly be a controversial move but there is no doubt Cole’s experience would be a positive factor for Arsenal’s relatively young squad.
Would fans welcome him back to Arsenal though?
Schalke’s chairman speaks out
More news on the transfer front comes from much talked about Julian Draxler, the youngster ended up staying with Schalke in January much to Arsenal’s disappointment.
And the German sides chairman Clemens Tönnies has been speaking about the 20-year-olds future and it makes mixed reading for Gunners fans.
The Metro reported the Schalke chairman’s quotes and he said: “It would do Draxler good to spend another year or two with us.
“But we know we’re not going to be able to keep a super-talented player like Julian at Schalke forever.
“If another club comes in for him, then we cannot block them. That would be unfair, but I think he will stay for a while yet.”
So maybe Draxler won’t be moving in the summer, at least Tönnies was adamant that the youngster wouldn’t join Bayern Munich.
“I don’t think he wants to join Bayern Munich,” added the Schalke chairman.
So a mixed bag of news on the fifth day of February and lots of new questions will now be posed.
Will Cole become a Gunner again, will this be Bacary’s last year and when will we sign Draxler? When we find out, we’ll be the first to tell you.
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