Jonathan Kaney is back again to give his view on the latest gossip concerning Arsenal to start a crucial Champions League week.
Marseille chasing David Ospina (Le10Sport)
Cited by The Metro, Le10Sport are reporting that French giants Marseille are keen on brining David Ospina back to France in the January transfer window, after the Columbian has lost his place at Arsenal to Peter Cech.
Many forget that Ospina is longlist nominee for the Ballon d’Or and was unlucky to lose his place to Cech after a superb World Cup and decent season for the Gunners. He was a vast improvement on Szczesny when he arrived, but when Cech became available, Wenger made the right choice to bring him in. It signalled the beginning of the end for Ospina at Arsenal.
He was given a chance between the sticks against Olympiacos in the Champions League, but a shaky and mistake-riddled performance saw him blamed for the loss. A move to French giants Marseille may reignite his career, which at Arsenal is surely all but over.
Benzema laughs off Real Madrid exit speculation (SkySports)
In an interview with French paper Journal du Dimanche, Benzema quashed any rumours discontent in Madrid and gave his views on the constant transfer rumours surrounding him. He said: “Every summer, I laugh about it with my brother and my friends. We wait for the media to come out with these rumours. In my opinion, I think that Real and Barca are the pinnacle in football. Why I would leave?”
Despite his most recent comments, the rumours will continue to circle around Benzema. If he finds the media circus around his future funny, it may be wise to keep comments like he is fed up with constantly being substituted to himself…
The big Frenchman is a good player and would have been a worthwhile signing in the summer. But entering his late twenties and for the prices quoted now, I feel the Benzema ship has sailed and it’s time to look at other options. He has had a good spell at Madrid recently but has suffered fan attacks in the past for his lack of consistency and is no guarantee of success for the massive fee we would be forced to pay.
Chelsea lead Arsenal in Pastore race (Daily Star)
The Daily Star reports that Chelsea have pushed ahead of Arsenal in the pursuit of PSG’s Argentinian creative midfielder Javier Pastore.
Pastore has been linked with the Gunners for some time, however at the moment he wouldn’t be too big a loss to Chelsea with the likes of Isco and Antoine Griezmann linked to the Gunners in recent days. He is a talented and creative player, but is struggling to get in to the PSG team and realistically would not be a starter at Arsenal.