Arsenal to smash transfer record for Mauro Zarate, Sol Campbell in for Senderos?

Chris Wright

8th, January 2010

7 Comments

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Suspicions arose that Mauro just wasn’t trying anymore

Rumour No.1: Hot off the press this morning is the rumour that Arsene Wenger is reportedly set to blow the lion’s share, if not all, of his January budget on a £35 million swoop for Lazio talisman Mauro Zarate. The Arsenal manager was said to be interested in signing the Argentine hotshot after his spell on loan at Birmingham City during the tail end of the 07/08 season but the young forward chose a move to Serie A instead.

If the transfer does go ahead, the fee would eclipse The Gunners’ previous club record, which stands at the £15 million used to bring Andrei Arshavin in from Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg.

Zarate’s agent has allegedly confirmed that contact has been made by one of Arsenal’s chief executives regarding the availability of ‘Lotito’ as the London club desperately try to add to their attacking options following the injuries to Robin Van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner. The Biancocelesti forward is said to be tired of his situation at Lazio, with the team currently underacheiving in the Italian league and he believes a move away from the Rome club would be the best course of action.

At 22, Zarate is undoubtedly one of the hottest prospects in European football and is already capable of match-winning moments of inspiration. He is strong, skilful and proficient in front of goal, traits that must surely be sparking Wenger’s interest. He is, however, known to be temperamental and a £35 million fee – way more than the player is worth, to be honest – would surely price him out of a move to the usually shrewd London club.

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Regrets, I had a few…

Rumour No.2: In other North London news, Sol Campbell is being touted for a shock move back to Arsenal [again] but only if Arsene Wenger can offload Philippe Senderos as the Swiss international seems to have played his last game for The Gunners after being frozen out of the first team. With Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Getafe emerging as potential suitors it shouldn’t be too hard for Senderos to find employment elsewhere.

The 35 year old ex-England defender has been training with Arsenal of late after he famously quit Notts County after one game earlier in the season. Wenger is looking to secure Campbell’s name on a short-term deal to provide cover for William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen until the end of the season.

Again, I’m not sure about this one but stranger things have happened in football (mostly to Sol Campbell). Could he still hack it at Arsenal? Or would they be wise investing a bit of money in a younger model?

Posted in Arsenal, Serie A, Transfers & Rumours

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7 Comments

  1. iain says:

    why bother even posting this- what utter tosh.He hasnt exactly set the world alight at Brum or Lazio. Try 10 million

  2. Ollie says:

    Maybe not, but I think he has a lot of talent – perhaps Wenger could make the most of it, but obviously not at that inflated fee.

  3. oskar says:

    I agree Iain. But I think we have to pay around the fee we paid for Arshavin to get him. Tricky player at Birmingham, you could see he had alot of talent and he has been looking more solid playing for Lazio.. Worth a punt I would say but not for the reported transfer fee

  4. satanisagooner says:

    Nope Wenger won’t blow £35m on one player never has nevr will do!
    Nope we dont need or want Sol he walked out on us against West Ham remember. Why would we want him back… he’s over the hill. We might as well just play another player out of postition to cover rather than wasting cash on him.

  5. Steve says:

    While I think Zarate is a great player and will continue to grow in the future, he hardly solves Arsenal’s problems being that he’s only 5’9. What Arsenal need right now is a player 6 inches taller than that for half the price of what people are claiming Zarate will cost. I’d rather have Carlton Cole or Andre-Pierre Gignac.

  6. Gabriel7 says:

    I’m portuguese and I’m a Sporting Club of Portugal fan and I have a great admiration for Barcelona and Arsenal. Arsene Wenger brougth even more charisma and a filosofy that make the supporters believe every years that they can win the Premier League title. Mauro Zarate is a player that creates goal oportunities with an accurate or powerful shot or with a change of pace or a dribling over the defender from every side of the field (rigth, left or center).Zárate started his career with Vélez Sársfield, team by which played three years and won the Primera División. He later signed for Al-Sadd in 2008 (big mistake), a Qatar team where he played only six months before going to Birmingham City (good choice) on loan. However, Birmingham were relegated and Zárate was loaned out again, this time at Lazio. In Italy he won the Coppa Italia and Super Copa Italiana. In international football, the Argentine played the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup and won the competition even thanks to the decisive goal he scored in the final.He is the next phenom and with 23 years old he is ready to learn more next Monsieur Arsene Wenger.

  7. Fiona Hall says:

    But is it really possible to grow taller? I dunno, I’ve always been skeptical. People think I’m crazy but ah well aha ;) – please don’t flame me for being skeptical, I’m just curious :P

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