Two transfer stories (excluding the ongoing Nasri situation) that are surrounding Arsenal this morning both concern Welsh Internationals, something that is fairly surprising given the normal lack of British players of interest in Wenger’s eyes.
Firstly there is 21 year old Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey, who has been in impressive form throughout this season, and has found himself a regular place in the Welsh national side as well. He is a tall keeper from what I’ve seen, and seems to be reliable in commanding his box, something that both our current keepers are not fantastic at. The main problem that I have with this transfer story is that the price tag doesn’t seem to be one that Wenger would meet, with £8m the price being quoted by the Mirror. A quality keeper is something we could do with though, so you never know. At £12m for Gomes, and around that for Scott Carson and Artur Boruc, all of whom have more experience, I just can’t see us splashing the cash on such a relatively untried player.
The other rumour is that we have had a £5m bid turned down by Cardiff City for teenage sensation Aaron Ramsey. I would really like to see this kid at Arsenal because he has absolutely everything he needs to become a special player, yet at the same time could provide cover for numerous places in the team as early as next season, such is his maturity. I have seen him play central midfield, left midfield and right midfield all very competently, in particular on the left against Boro’ in the FA Cup, and I would say he is a star for the future for sure. However, Cardiff’s financial situation means that they would prefer all the money up front rather than based on factors regarding the speed of his development in bonus payments to make up the fee, and this is the current sticking point. Liverpool, Manchester United, Everton, Portsmouth, Villa and Tottenham all have an interest in Wales’ next big player.
