Gunners in injury crisis

LONDON. — Newcastle have rejected an Arsenal bid of around £10m for highly-rated French midfielder Yohan Cabaye.
The Gunners’ Premier League season began with a miserable 3-1 home loss to Aston Villa at the Emirates on Saturday and boss Arsene Wenger has been criticised for not strengthening his squad this summer.

But Wenger has made it clear he does expect to make signings before the transfer window closes at the end of the month and Cabaye has now emerged as a target.

However, Newcastle are not thought to have paid much less than £10m for Cabaye themselves and have turned down Arsenal’s offer.
The 27-year-old Cabaye has been linked with several clubs over the summer, notably French champions Paris Saint Germain.

And Arsenal have now entered the running for the France international, who joined Newcastle from Lille in the summer of 2011 and helped the Magpies to finish fifth in the Premier League that season.

Reports in the British media claim that Arsenal have made a £10million bid for Newcaste United’s French international midfielder Cabaye.
The Magpies are said to have laughed the bid for the 27-year-old off the table, labelling it “derisory”, which seems to be the buzz word for transfers yesterday.

According to The Telegraph, Newcastle do not want to lose Cabaye, but he has been determined to leave after they flirted with relegation last season.

He only cost Newcastle £4.8million two seasons ago, and in that time he has proved to be one of the English Premier League’s most eye-catching central midfielders.

And so if they do sell him, Newcastle will certainly make a tidy profit.
French clubs PSG and Monaco have both been linked to Cabaye, and so it has been suggested that Newcastle dismissed Arsenal’s bid out of hand, hoping that Wenger will go head-to-head with the clubs from his homeland, in a bidding war for Cabaye’s services.

The sudden chase for Cabaye will likely do little to placate Arsenal’s restless fans.
It is true that the Gunners need a player like the Frenchman now, due to injuries to Mikel Arteta and Alex Oxlade-Camberlain.

But Arsenal are arguably in far greater need of a steely defensive midfielder and a top-quality striker.
And so to many, their reported move for Cabaye may seem as if they’re trying to stop the blood flowing from a serious wound with a plaster.

Arsenal are facing an early season injury crisis and winger Oxlade-Chamberlain could be out of action for the best part of six months.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is one of several players who picked up injuries in Saturday’s 3-1 home defeat to Aston Villa, leaving manager Arsene Wenger with a selection headache for tomorrow’s crucial Champions League qualifier against Fenerbache.

Wenger was waiting on the results of a second scan on Oxlade-Chamberlain after the England international left the Emirates Stadium on crutches on Saturday.

Oxlade-Chamberlain, 20, was involved in a nasty collision with Aston Villa defender Antonio Luna and Wenger admitted: “He is out, definitely out (for the Fenerbahce trip). It’s a knee problem. It’s a bad injury.” The highly-rated winger underwent a preliminary scan on Sunday and medical staff were assessing his damaged left knee. — Sky Sports-AFP.