Fresh reports from L’Equipe today are claiming Arsenal have ended their interest in St. Etienne captain Loic Perrin. According to this source, the Gunners have now made Villarreal player Gabriel Paulista their prime target for January.

This comes as a surprise following reports yesterday that a deal was almost done for the defender. St. Etienne had already begun their search for his replacement as they were convinced the deal was more or less done.

Rumours are circulating that Wenger has now changed his mind on the defender and now looking elsewhere for someone to help bolster the Gunners’ defence. Perhaps talks had broken down during negotiations, or maybe a fee could not be agreed between the two clubs?

Only time will tell what has happened the proposed deal but it seems as though Perrin will not be a Gunner after all.

This follows reports from Marca which claimed Villarreal were interested in taking Costa Rican forward Joel Campbell on loan. Following the loss of Cani to Atletico Madrid, perhaps revived interest in Campbell has sparked Wenger’s desire to sign Paulista from the club.

Again, I feel like this is a strange move again from the Gunners. Although he is only 24, Paulista has not played for Brazil at any level in his career and apparently isn’t close to featuring for them any time soon.

Although this deal looks like it could be very simple on both sides, it’s not that easy. Paulista may well have work permit issues, however there is a possibility of an EU passport but it remains to be seen if that can happen according to L’Equipe . The fact Arsenal have let go of Podolski and more than likely Yaya Sanogo is on his way out of the club, Wenger may want to keep one striker at the club just in case.