Wenger may give up on Schwarzer
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits he may be forced to give up his chase for Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.
Schwarzer is desperate to join the Gunners from Fulham, but new Cottagers boss Mark Hughes has rejected two offers of around STG2 million ($A3.49 million) for his services.
Wenger is confident of making one more signing before the transfer window closes but hinted he may have to turn his attentions elsewhere if he cannot get Fulham to sell the 37-year-old Schwarzer.
"I'm confident we will have at least one," Wenger said. Maybe one plus one. The market is quiet but I know it gets crazy in the last five days and on the final day it gets completely mad.
And referring to the Schwarzer bid, he added: "We have to be as quiet as possible. You cannot force any club to sell a player.
"If they don't want to sell, they can say no. If we make an offer for a player, the club says yes or no. If the club says no, then that's it."
Wenger believes Arsenal are already beginning to benefit from Fabio Capello's decision to omit Theo Walcott from the England World Cup squad.
Walcott bagged a hat-trick as the Gunners crushed Blackpool 6-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday with an Andrey Arshavin penalty and goals from Abou Diaby and Maraouane Chamakh - his first for the club - completing the scoring.
Wenger believes Walcott's impressive finishing and all-round play is further evidence that the 21-year-old is maturing as a player and is determined to put the disappointment of the World Cup snub behind him.
"He is more electric than he has been," said Wenger. "He was sharp. I like the way he mixed the final ball and his finishing.
"That is always a sign a player is more mature. He plays at a very high pace and it isn't easy to make the right decision. But he got many decisions in the final third right."
Having had a complete break since last season, Walcott appears to have shrugged off the injuries that have hindered his development over the previous two campaigns.
"He looks better for the break," Wenger added. "He's had good preparation for the first time in a long, long time.
"Without being interrupted by an injury or coming back late. You can see that.
Blackpool manager Ian Holloway was frustrated that his side's hopes of springing a surprise were effectively ended when Ian Evatt was dismissed for tripping Chamakh to concede the penalty that allowed Arshavin to make it 2-0.
"I wish it was more like in my day when the referees had more discretion," he said.
"There's a question whether it was in the penalty area and whether my player played the ball, I think a yellow card would have been fairer and would have given the paying public more of a spectacle.
"Everything about Arsenal is class and this was a masterclass. The ball hardly left the grass and I would be delighted if my teams one day played like that.
"We have plenty to do on Monday morning and I think we could have a few Monday mornings like it. I'm relieved it wasn't 10 or 12."
Post a comment about this article
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Becoming a member is free and easy, sign up here.