“I’m 99 per cent confident that we will make a signing”. Arsenal watched Perez extensively last season and did not think he was good enough for them.
Advertisement
The double deals will bring an end to the growing pressure on the Gunners manager ahead of Wednesday night’s transfer window deadline.
Everton are still hopeful of a deal but reports in Spain suggest Arsenal are strong favourites to sign the player.
On the English Football League Cup which pairs Arsenal against Nottingham Forest, Wenger said: “We want to do well because we have a big squad, always play with younger players and will integrate again”.
“I’m happy when our supporters are happy”, he said yesterday. “But Arsenal were initially reluctant to spend money on a player who some at the club doubted was up to the level of competing in the Champions League and for the Premier League title”. The 23-year-old spent last season on loan at Toulouse and would be a surprise target for the Gunners.
Asked if signing a defender would affect Chambers’ future, Wenger said: “Future? No”. Could he go out and play on loan?
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Wenger also stated that there will be no changes to his squad that faced Leicester last weekend.
“I believe that he’s a bit of a victim of the size of the squad”, the Frenchman said.
At 27, he’s already had more clubs than Rory McIllroy and arrives as the definitive journeyman, at least on paper.
One player who looks certain not to join Everton this summer, however, is Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart after Koeman ruled out the possibility of signing the England No.1.
Arsenal have made just one high-profile signing this summer – Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach – but Wenger may be forced to enter the market before the transfer window closes due to a current injury crisis in defence. “We have a requested number, and we can’t have any more players any way”.
“Honestly, I expected it to be easier than ever but it looks like it will be harder than ever. Because the longer I wait, the more hard it will be to lose the addiction”, he is quoted as saying in Alan Curbishley’s new book, Game Changers.
Advertisement
Wenger warned, as he does most weeks, that modern life has bred an obsession with novelty, which is manifested in football by a desperation for transfers.
