Hatem Ben Arfa is the latest player to be linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium.
Champions League winners Chelsea will battle with Arsenal to try to sign Newcastle United winger Ben Arfa.
The Frenchman has impressed since returning from injury and was an integral part of the Magpies fifth place finish last season.
Both London clubs are looking to strengthen their attacking department this summer and will try to use the promise of Champions League football to lure the player away from Newcastle.
According to French newspaper L’Equipe, Ben Arfa would prefer a move to the Emirates as he isn’t convinced that he would be a regular starter at Stamford Bridge.
The 25-year-old joined Newcastle initially on loan from Marseille in 2010.
Ben Arfa was linked with the Gunners a few years ago when he was at Lyon back in 2008 although the then-French champions wanted a rather handsome £16m for a player who hadn’t featured too much in the first team.
Instead Arsene Wenger opted to buy Samir Nasri for around half the price from Marseille who in turn pinched Ben Arfa from their Ligue 1 rivals.
He got off to a good start with the Toon Army, scoring a few wonder goals and providing the club with some real attacking flair that they had been lacking.
However, a serious injury kept the Moroccan out of action for some time before he made his return last year and put in a number of superb performances.
Ben Arfa was named in Laurent Blanc’s Euro 2012 squad but didn’t appear until their 2-0 defeat to Sweden on Tuesday night which handed England first place in the group.
He seems to have some behaviour issues though and could be getting sent home early from Poland and Ukraine after an alleged bust up with the Les Bleus boss.
L’Equipe claims that the Newcastle forward was challenged by Blanc over using his mobile phone in the dressing room, prompting the player to hit back over his substitution, believing that he was at the receiving end of some unfair criticism which led to the Magpies star asking the boss to send him home.
Ben Arfa has a history of falling out with managers, having left Marseille on a sour note after a disagreement with boss Didier Deschamps.
This sort of behaviour won’t impress Wenger, who is well known for putting the club before a player and swiftly offloading troublesome players such as Emmanuel Adebayor and William Gallas.
He could be a good purchase for Arsenal, and Wenger is a known fan of the winger but one has to question whether he will make a move for him.
A lot could depend on the contract situation of Theo Walcott and whether or not any other wide players leave North London before the end of the transfer window.
Another issue is that the Gunners have been linked with other similar wingers to Ben Arfa such as CSKA Moscow’s Alan Dzagoev, who would probably be available for a cheaper price.
Have a look at the video below to feast upon some of his goals and trickery.
Matt Cotton
@FindingCotton
Current wide possibilities- walcott chamberlain podolski gervinho arshavin vela miyaichi campbell
current am possibilities most of the above plus rosicky diaby ramsey wilshire arteta lansbury eisfeld aneke