Friday 18 January 2013

Arsène Wenger confirms Arsenal interest in Edinson Cavani of Napoli - The Guardian

Arsène Wenger also says he's '99% sure' of a new Theo Walcott deal

Arsène Wenger has confirmed his interest in the Napoli striker Edinson Cavani but has denied submitting a bid to Crystal Palace for their in-demand winger Wilfried Zaha.

Wenger, asked about speculation linking Arsenal with the Napoli striker, who has scored 16 Serie A goals this season, said: "Cavani is a player that I like. Will he cost a lot of money? That's for sure. Nobody would deny that. [But] our banker lives just next to me at the moment and he is ready if we find the right player."

On Zaha, he said: "We are looking at him, but at the moment we have not made any bid for him. I don't know if Manchester United are in for him. Anyway, if you call any club for any player, they will tell you Man Utd, Milan, Real Madrid are as well in for him, but it is always difficult to know if it is true or not."

Wenger said he was happy to play a waiting game in an effort to secure his targets at the right price. "The prices always go up at the start of the transfer market and go down in the last week. Sometimes as well they go up in the last week, but it depends. Most of the time they go down in the last week and you know as well that 90% of transfer activity happens in the last week, if not in the last 48 hours."

He also revealed that he is now "99% certain" that a contract extension can finally be agreed in the coming days with Theo Walcott.

Walcott would have been a free agent at the end of the season, and the club have been in negotiations to agree terms on a lucrative extension which would make him among the highest-paid players at the club.

"I was scared at some stage, yes, that he could leave because it is like that with the experience I have in negotiations," Wenger said. "When things last too long, it is never a good sign. In this case, it took us some time to get where we want to get. It is still not finalised, but hopefully it will be done by this weekend. There is a possibility. My optimism is at 99% now."

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