Atletico Madrid To Hijack Arsenal Move For David Villa

[Skeng DX]

ARSENAL could be gazumped in their bid to land Barcelona forward David Villa.
The Gunners have emerged as the frontrunners for his signature in recent weeks, as manager Arsene Wenger looks to put to good use the £50m transfer kitty he has been handed to spend on new players.

Villa has struggled for regular game time under Tito Vilanova this season, and allied with his injury record, his days at the Camp Nou appear to be numbered.

But there could be a twist in this transfer saga, as Atletico Madrid see Villa as an ideal replacement for their prolific forward Radamel Falcao.

According to Spanish football site Grada360.com, a £12m bid by Atletico could be accepted by Barca.

They also suggest that a deal could work for both parties, as Villa only has one year left to run on his contract.

Despite the mesmerising form of Theo Walcott in recent weeks, most notably the hat-trick he scored in Arsenal’s 7-3 thrashing of Newcastle, the Gunners were held in their last two games against Southampton and Swansea respectively.

Villa is a proven goalscorer, and was a revelation in his debut season for Barcelona, netting 25 goals in all competitions.

[Karl]

2 things! -

ARSENAL could be gazumped in their bid to land Barcelona forward David Villa.

The Gunners have emerged as the frontrunners for his signature in recent weeks, as manager Arsene Wenger looks to put to good use the £50m transfer kitty he has been handed to spend on new players.

Villa has struggled for regular game time under Tito Vilanova this season, and allied with his injury record, his days at the Camp Nou appear to be numbered.

But there could be a twist in this transfer saga, as Atletico Madrid see Villa as an ideal replacement for their prolific forward Radamel Falcao.

According to Spanish football site Grada360.com, a £12m bid by Atletico could be accepted by Barca.

They also suggest that a deal could work for both parties, as Villa only has one year left to run on his contract.

I hope David Villa comes down hard on coming to the GUNNERS!

Despite the mesmerising form of Theo Walcott in recent weeks, most notably the hat-trick he scored in Arsenal’s 7-3 thrashing of Newcastle, the Gunners were held in their last two games against Southampton and Swansea respectively.

Villa is a proven goalscorer, and was a revelation in his debut season for Barcelona, netting 25 goals in all competitions.

The writer hits the nail on the head when he presents Walcott as he did above. Underlying his words on comparing both men is the 'calling out' of Theo Walcott. He saw Theo Walcott's failure as goalscorer in our matches against Southhampton and Swansea. Walcott's performances particularly in the Sawnsea match when the GUNNERS 'bossed' the tempo, possession and goal-scoring opportunities when a forceful, determined...strong TEAMplaying Theo was needed, he never showed.

Theo Walcott can be said to be a fair-weather striker. Great when the going is good, absent when there is need for heart...strong on-the-field TEAM man.

GUNNERS need a forward who is in the thick of things when the going gets tough! Theo Walcott is not that forward. ...now David Villa has character! Drogba has character! Ba has character! dare I say Luis Saurez currently of Liverpool?...a player of that nature needed to replace Theo.

Let him go! ...as he currently plays he fits perfectly in for a team expecting to a middle of the EPL position. GUNNERS must be more ambitious...right?

[Skeng DX]

the bad luxk continues

Arsenal will not be able to pursue Barcelona star David Villa in January, with club president Sandro Rosel insisting that the striker will be needed until the end of the season at least.

Reports that Arsene Wenger is considering an approach for Villa continue to mount, with the Gunners looking to boost their firepower and push themselves into the top four.

But Barcelona president Sandro Rosell claims that the Spain international won't be making a move to another club before the summer at least, despite receiving limited game time for the Catalan giants.

"I completely rule out the transfer of Villa during the winter market," he told radio station RAC1. "He is ours and we need him, there is a lot of the season left."

The Guardian claims that Arsenal are set to look elsewhere as they search for a replacement for Morouane Chamakh, who has made the move to West Ham on a six-month loan deal, and Gervinho, who will travel to the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast this month.

Adrian Lopez and Lucas Biglia are both believed to be on Wenger's wish list. With the north London club currently sixth in the table and rivals Tottenham and Chelsea continue to augment their attacking options, the Frenchman will no doubt be considering whether his squad have the ability to replicate the form which earned them a Champions League place in the second half of last season.

Part of the reason the Gunners were able to qualify for the European tournament for the 16th time in a row in their last campaign was due to a late season collapse from Tottenham, as Spurs fans grew in excitement that they might finish above their rivals for the first time since 1995.

Andre Villas-Boas has made his intention to square up to Arsenal over the course of this season clear, with the Portuguese tactician saying in November: "We have to [finish above the Gunners]."

With that in mind, reinforcements will be high on Arsenal's agenda this month.

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[Skeng DX]

Theo Walcott is set to sign a bring an end to months of negotiations by putting pen to paper on a new deal that will run until 2017 according to Goal.com.
The England man is close to signing a deal that sees improved terms taking his wage from £60k a week to £90k, still some way short of the reported £100k a week deal he was reportedly hoping to garner.
The 23 year old has less than six months to run on his current contract and was initially frozen out of Arsenal’s first team set-up until his form was impossible to ignore.
Walcott has continued to impress and was rewarded with a striking role in recent Premier League encounters to great effect, with the Arsenal man netting a hat-trick against Newcastle United.
If Arsene Wenger does indeed convince Walcott to sign a new deal he may have less of an urgent need to bring in attacking reinforcements and the former Southampton man has managed 14 goals this term and is Arsenal’s top scorer in all competitions.
Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool are apparently all taken interest in Walcott in recent months.