Arsenal Make €15m Shock Move for Former Real Madrid Midfielder - Report
Arsenal are tracking Dutch international Wesley Sneijder, according to Tutto Mercato Web. The report claims the Gunners are keen on adding an attacking midfielder to their ranks before the end of the transfer window, with one eye on a potential challenge for the Premier League this season and another on a tough draw in the group stages of the Champions League.
Sneijder's arrival, if it does happen, will also go a long way towards satisfying fans' calls for a high-profile summer signing; the former Real Madrid and Inter Milan star could be Wenger's answer to critics who believe the manager does not want to spend on signing new players.
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The TMW report makes no mention of a transfer fee but quotes from Galatasaray president Unal Aysal, earlier this summer, suggest a sum of €15m could be enough to persuade the Turkish champions to release the midfielder. The news should please Wenger, who is likely to view the sum as reasonable value for money for someone who has won the Dutch, Spanish, Italian and Turkish leagues, as well as the 2010 UEFA Champions League.
"I have been following the rumours about Sneijder, but we have not received an offer for him. If an offer in the region of €15 million comes in, we might decide to sell him though," EPSN quoted Aysal as saying in June.
The Gunners are expected to be very busy in the final few hours of the summer transfer window, with talk of massive club record bids for Real Madrid's German international playmaker Mesut Ozil, the Santiago Bernabeu club's Argentine winger Angel di Maria and possibly Uruguay striker Abel Hernandez.
Meanwhile, Wenger declared his delight with his team after a fourth consecutive win in all competitions; Arsenal beat Tottenham 1-0 at the Emirates on Sunday evening, in the season's first north London derby.
"It was a very important game for us. It was our fourth game in two weeks and I knew in the last 20 minutes we could suffer a bit physically. But overall it was a convincing win in a very intense game. It was a bit uneven technically, we had moments where we lost some balls that we don't usually [lose], but in the end we hung on," he told www.arsenal.com.
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