The Gunners are already preparing for a busy summer of transfer activity in north London, with goalkeeper still a problem position at the Emirates.
Arsenal hope to offload striker Gervinho to Galatasary at the end of the season, while bringing in Liverpool keeper Jose Manuel Reina.
Source: The Daily Mail
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is reportedly planning his end-of-season transfer business in what is sure to be a critical summer window for the North London club, with the centre forward and goalkeeping positions thought to be of most importance for the Frenchman.
One player believed to be no longer wanted by the Gunners is Ivory Coast international front-man Gervinho, a player signed for £10.8 million from Ligue 1 outfit Lille in July 2011 but who in the intervening period has found the back of the net just eight times in 42 appearances for the club.
In fairness to the 25-year-old attacker, he has rarely been played in the striker role, often being shunted out to the wide areas to accommodate other players such as Olivier Giroud, Lukas Podolski and even Theo Walcott of late.
However, equally when he has been given the chance, Gervinho has often been found wanting in the very biggest of games and now it appears as though his manager has decided that enough is enough, with his and the fans’ patience having grown thin.
With Turkish champions Galatasaray reportedly to be prepared to pay £12m to secure the Ivorian’s services, then Wenger will most certainly jump at the chance to offload the forward and use that money to strengthen other more important areas of the team, namely between the sticks.
The Frenchman could possibly take Gala’s own shot-stopper, highly-rated Uruguay international Fernando Muslera, in a part-exchange deal involving Gervinho, or he could also follow up his longrunning interest in Liverpool No 1 Jose Manuel Reina.
Arsenal came close to signing the Spain international in the summer of 2010 for £20m, only for the Reds to reject their overtures at a time when the club were in the process of changing owners.
But opting for the Merseysiders’ more experienced and steady 30-year-old would definitely prove the safer of the two options, especially as bringing a new keeper to the Premier League from overseas is always fraught with danger, something Wenger only knows too well about from past experiences.
If a Gervinho sale finances the signing of Pepe Reina for Arsenal, it would be a fine piece of business.
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