Blackburn ace Chris Samba pleads for switch to Arsenal



CHRIS SAMBA has stunned Blackburn by pleading: Let me join Arsenal.

The Rovers skipper said: "I want to play Champions League football. Which player doesn't dream of that?"
The giant French defender, 27, signed a new five-year deal at Ewood Park only a few months ago.
But he insisted: "A player who has no ambition to play at a higher level has made a mistake and chosen the wrong sport.
"I don't know what is happening with Arsenal because I am not dealing with it and it's not my problem.
"At the minute I am still at Blackburn but it would be a big lie if I told you 'everything is good and I don't want to play in the Champions League'.
"I don't know what the board and the manager at Blackburn are planning or what provisions they have made for signing new players.
"It is difficult for me at the moment because I'm just waiting to see what happens and concentrating on my preparation for the new season."
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has been weighing up a £12million bid for Samba for months but has so far failed to make a firm offer.
Wenger could be lining up a defensive double whammy by also landing Everton's Phil Jagielka before the big kick-off on August 13.
The Frenchman had a £10m bid for the England star, 28, rejected earlier this month.
But Wenger is refusing to give up on his long-term transfer target.
And he is ready to test the Toffees' resolve with an improved £15m offer for their top defender.
Wenger sees Samba and Jagielka as the perfect solution to his central defensive problem which has hindered the Gunners' title challenge in the last few seasons.
The Arsenal chief tried to sign the Goodison man last summer but his £12m bid was rebuffed by the Merseysiders.

Jagielka has remained on the Frenchman's radar since then.
But, bizarrely, Wenger offered even less dough for him this year.
That offer was laughed out of court by Everton's hierarchy, who value their defender much higher.
But the cash-strapped Toffees need money to strengthen their ailing squad.
Goodison boss David Moyes does not want to lose his inspirational star, who joined from Sheffield United for £4m in July 2007.
But he knows he could fund two new signings with the transfer cash received from Arsenal.

Sursa: TheSun

Blackburn's captain Christopher Samba has distanced himself from his supposed quotes - that speak of his Champions League football admiration and imminent arrival at Arsenal. He insisted that the quotations were inappropriate, and in violation of his contractual agreement with Blackburn Rovers.

The 27-year-old Congo international wrote on his personal Twitter account: "The declarations about me are totally false - never said that.

"I'm a Rovers player and will never mention other clubs - it's disrespectful. Not happy right now."

Valencia winger Juan Mata is nearing a switch to Arsenal after the Gunners have matched his release clause.

The Spain international is looking to leave Mestalla this summer and he is reportedly keen on a move to Arsenal.

Even though Valencia president Manuel Llorente recently stated that Mata would not be sold, the player’s future is no longer in his hands after Arsenal matched the player’s £17.5m release clause, as reported by Daily Mail.

The Gunners expect to wrap up the deal within next few days so that they could turn their attention to other targets.

Mata is set to become Arsenal’s second big name attacking signing this summer, after Lille’s Gervinho arrived to the Emirates a couple of weeks ago.

Feyenoord technical director Martin van Geel intends to fly to London next month to discuss the possibility of another loan deal for Japanese starlet Ryo Miyaichi with Arsenal.

The 18-year-old winger impressed on loan at De Kuip last season after signing his first senior deal with the Gunners in the summer.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has indicated he could include Miyaichi in his squad this season, with the youngster having already joined the North Londoners on their pre-season tour of Asia.

But Van Geel is hoping the tactician can be persuaded to loan the Japan Under-19 international out for another campaign.

"Arsenal are waiting for a yes or no on the application of a work permit for Ryo," Van Geel explained to Voetbal International.

"In mid-August, they hope to obtain an answer about it and I'm actually planning to fly to London."
Strengthen

Van Geel had previously stated Miyaichi could be surplus to requirements at Feyenoord this season due to the presence of Sekou Cisse and Jerson Cabral, who primarily play on the left wing.

But after consideration the Dutchman admits versatile Miyaichi would help bolster other areas of his attack.

"We're not so strong in terms of our attackers," he added. "Ryo can actually deal with all positions up front.

"In regards to the left wing, that is doubly occupied. But for all other places up front we could do with strengthening."

Главный тренер «Арсенала» Арсен Венгер надеется завершить приобретения новичков до начала традиционного предсезонного турнира Emirates Cup, информирует The Telegraph.
Главными целями специалиста является нападающий «Валенсии» Хуан Мата и центральный защитник. «Канониры» предлагают за испанца 13 миллионов фунтов с возможностью увеличения этой суммы до 17,5 миллионов в зависимости от выступления игрока.
Также лондонский клуб собирается улучшить предложение по защитнику «Эвертона» Филу Джагелке. Если не удастся договориться по этому игроку, «канониры» попытаются приобрести Гари Кэйхилла или Кристофера Самбу.
Отметим, что матчи Emirates Cup пройдут 30 и 31 июля.

«Арсенал» намерен увеличить предложение по приобретению защитника «Эвертона» Фила Джагелки. «Канониры» готовы предложить за англичанина 13 миллионов фунтов, сообщает The Times.
Как сообщает источник, лондонцы хотят подписать Джагелку до начала Emirates Cup, который пройдет с 30 по 31 июля.
На прошлой неделе «Эвертон» отказался продавать Джагелку в «Арсенал» за 11 миллионов фунтов. Сообщается, что ливерпульский клуб намерен выручить от продажи защитника 18 миллионов фунтов.

28, Defender, Everton

As with all the articles I do on a player linked with Arsenal, this piece will attempt to cover a few interesting pieces of the player’s identity and biography. Over the past few weeks a number of journalists have stepped out to say that they believed Jagielka to be the primary target for Arsène Wenger rather than Gary Cahill. Wenger has made a £10m bid for the player which has been turned down, and this is the reason Jagielka will be covered in this piece.

The first thing that struck me when I heard of an Englishman who was snapping ferocious tackles in at Sheffield United under Neil Warnock was; where does his name come from? Turns out he is of Polish descent and was born Philip Nikodem Jagielka in Sale, Greater Manchester. His grandparents fled Poland after the Second World War. As a young teenager he started off as a schoolboy at Everton, before joining The Blades at 15 years of age. There his talent as a defensive midfielder, with a rocket propelled work rate and a physicality to dominate the midfield in the Championship, allowed him to make a real name for himself. A great season in 2005-06 allowed him to play a mammoth 46 games and score 8 goals. He won the Championship award for best player that season. The following year they were promoted. His year in the Premier League with United was ultimately a disappointment as they were relegated. However, his versatility lead to one of the highlights of the season. Forced to play in goal against Arsenal after Paddy Kenny was injured, they managed to secure a famous 1-0 victory. He even made an excellent late save from Robin Van Persie.

Jagielka’s life has had sadness as well. His grandfather was a potential and unproven murder victim of serial killer Harold Shipman. He said “When my grandfather died, he put his hand on my right shoulder and said, ‘I think I’ll stay here a while in case he wakes up so he doesn’t scare people. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but I do now.” Whilst recovering from a cruciate injury last year, 3 masked men from an organised criminal gaang burst into his rented £2.5m mansion with knives and threatened Jagielka. They stole valuables and a Range Rover, which was later found abandoned.

Having joined Everton, he found a gritty and ambitious Scottish manager under David Moyes prepared to support him fully and smooth his rough edges. Having moved back into centre defence he showed the grittiness of an old school tough centre defender, with the passing game to take the ball and move it forward. Moyes pushes Jagielka, not just as a footballer, as a man and leader. Moyes said in March this year that he could potentially become an England captain but that ‘he needs to drive himself on to be that person; it has to come from within.’ The undertone of that comment is that Jagielka maybe lacks the aggressive, cutting edge of John Terry or Rio Ferdinand. Moyes also said ‘Sometimes he suffers from self doubt’, whilst ‘he should be looking at himself as a future Everton captain and he agrees that he has to start being a leader.’ Interesting that Arsenal supporters point to Jagielka as the natural leader, when even his own manager says he does not (yet) have that element in his personality. I would hope Wenger is able to spend the money to buy a taller player with less injury problems, younger and better passing skills. Therefore we return to Gary Cahill. Bolton Wanderers are waiting to see if Chelsea or Manchester City make a move for him.

Everton are notoriously tough negotiators, well known for driving prices extremely high and turning a seemingly simple deal into a long running saga. Turning down £10m for a player turning 29 years of age in less than a month is brave decision, despite the fact Wenger offered £12m last season. If Everton are asking for a £15m then that is a lot of money considering he does not even meet the mandate of what Arsenal genuinely need. In short, this deal is doomed until there is an immense shift in policy from Everton to sell or Arsenal to pay substantially more. A huge, angry, commanding centre back with natural leadership skills must be the requisite qualities for the next Arsenal centre defender Wenger purchases to deal with the set piece problems we have. Jagielka could play a simple and limited centre back role alongside Vermaelen or Djourou. He would likely allow them, as the more comfortable passers to bring out the ball. However alongside Laurent Koscielny, I just do not see that pairing as having the muscularity or presence to change anything about our current spinal weakness.

Jagielka would bring other qualities if he were to sign for Arsenal. He does not have an ego (a trademark Wenger plus), has a good work rate, a positive attitude and a knack for digging deep to grind the best standards of play from his team mates. If he had a nastier side, a tendency to grip opposition players by the throat as the dark art masters from Inter Milan do at corners, I would be keener.

Owen Coyle says Bolton have yet to receive an offer for Gary Cahill despite interest from Arsenal and other top clubs.

Cahill was expected to leave the Reebok Stadium this summer with the Gunners, Tottenham and Manchester City all thought to be keen but so far no offers have been made.
Wanderers are holding out for £17million and at this moment in time it looks like interested parties are unwilling to pay that much. In the meantime Coyle has told Cahill to knuckle down and concentrate on his Bolton career.
"I think it is well known the belief I have in Gary Cahill, the quality he has, but that's the nature of football," Coyle told Sky Sports. "It only takes a phone call for it to all change but I have said to him he is a Bolton Wanderers player, he is well paid by Bolton Wanderers and he has to make sure he is focused to do the job in hand until something was to change.
"He is such an outstanding player that we are very fortunate to have him. I know there is interest from other clubs, nothing concrete in terms of offers, but all these elite clubs know he is an outstanding player so we will have to wait and see what happens with that."