Arsenal's Cazorla 'work' & Lloris 'wind-up' + ESPN's Kos criticism

This time my Dragon software converted "Hello again Gooners" to "Hello again during this", so if you see more typos you will know why!

When it comes to the name Santi Cazorla, I'm guilty of making a lot of mistakes myself! Arsene Wenger himself claimed he didn't know who Santi is, when asked by a member of the media in the UK. However, when asked a similar question by the Asian media he replied that although a deal was "not close" he was "working on it", allegedly. I'm never been one to doubt the existence of Santi, although I don't necessarily expect him to drop down Arsenal's chimney immediately.

This could end up being another transfer saga, but I think we will see movement on the Santi front by the end of the month. By then we will know if he is going to come to Arsenal or whether or not he will stay at Malaga. The Spanish club needs the money as their debts could result in relegation if not addressed on or before 31 July 2012. I cannot imagine Sheik Al Thani wasting his €150 million investment by allowing that to happen. That's why the Guardian are claiming it's a done deal, and the Sun says the deal will be complete before the weekend, while the Daily Mail has proclaimed: "Santi is coming to town".

Let's hope those media sources are correct as €20 million sounds cheap at the price for such a talented Spain international winger, especially as a buyout clause written into his contract is more than double the amount. His versatility and experience will be welcome at Arsenal and that kind of signing may convince Robin van Persie to stay at the Emirates Stadium. According to Sky Sports, Arsene Wenger has "re-irritated" his desire to keep the striker at Arsenal. An interesting slip of the tongue!

Meanwhile, Arsenal have been accused of a "disingenuous bid" for Hugo Lloris. All sorts of skulduggery may have gone on, according to Spurs, who are apparently accusing us of offering £16 million for the Lyon keeper. Of course, former Arsenal utility player Remi Garde is now Lyon boss and therefore has been implicated in this "scandal". Spurs are genuinely chasing the France international goalkeeper, where is our interest is just to inflate the price. Or so the story goes. We expect developments on this story on Saturday, as Lyon's chairman Jean Michel Aulas has claimed the decision about the player's future will be made by then. Lloris didn't exactly cover himself in glory during Euro 2012, so perhaps Arsenal should give him a wide berth.

Another player we won't be signing is Loic Remy of Marseille. The 25-year-old France international looks to be heading to Newcastle United £15 million. The Magpies should get half that amount for the sale of Demba Ba to Rubin Kazan.

A lot less money than that has been received by Arsenal for the sale of Pedro Botelho to Atletico Paranaense. The Brazilian left back was loaned out to all and sundry in Spain for five years, but has now returned year to his home country without making an impact for Arsenal. Let's hope a better fate awaits Joel Campbell.

Another player who could be on the way out, perhaps, is Emmanuel Frimpong. The popular Arsenal midfielder is in trouble again, due to something he wrote on his Twitter account. I don't disagree with most Arsenal fans who love the fact that Frimpong wears his heart on his sleeve, but he will have to be careful in future on social networking sites. I only hope he's learnt his lesson now.

Apart from Lauren Koscielny signing a new long-term deal, the other good news concerns our friendly performance against a Malaysia XI. Two goals in the final few minutes turned defeat to victory and the youngsters who performed should be very pleased with themselves. Thomas Eisfeld got the equaliser, which was good going considering the brevity of his cameo appearance. Chuks Aneke grabbed a deflected winner and it was "high-fives" all around, apart from in the case of Marouane Chamakh - who was largely disappointing, despite going close to scoring twice.

Abou Diaby played in fits and starts, yet the commentary team on ESPN were full of praise for the France international midfielder. Back in the studio, ESPN's Steve Nicol more or less said the whole Arsenal team were suspect, apart from Mikel Arteta. I wonder if Nicol has met Arteta, as both spent a lot of time in Liverpool, Nicol playing for the red side without Spanish maestro on the blue side.

Anyway, Nicol's praise of Arteta was far from shocking. However, I took issue with his criticism of Thomas Vermaelen and Lauren Koscielny, especially as the commentary team had revealed that this pair had made more last-ditch tackles than any other defenders in the Premier League. Those statistics speak for themselves and not in a negative way either.

To keep things on a positive note, I should mention the possibility of Thierry Henry returning to Arsenal as a coach. I suggest we get him to coach our strikers. He might even be able to get Chamakh scoring goals again!

That's all for now, up the Gooners!

Bendtner Mark II is on form before Arsenal switch?

After a play-off weekend, it was always likely that we would be talking about one of the star players on show. Given at Crewe Alexandra's record of producing good young players, it is no surprise that Arsenal and Manchester United are being linked with matchwinner Nick Powell.

The teenage midfielder will not be 19 until March, yet as already clocked up over 50 games in the league for Crewe scoring 14 goals in scoring 14 goals in the process. His goal for Crewe in the League Two play-off final opened the scoring and showcased what looks like a prodigious talent: a good first touch with his right foot to set up a volley with his weaker left foot.

There has been transfer speculation linking the England Under 18 international with a move to Arsenal for more than two years. His performance at Wembley indicates that he is certainly one for the future, but whether it will be at Arsenal remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, another so-called long-term Arsenal transfer target Mohamed Diamé is also being linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium. The 24-year-old Wigan defensive midfielder is, apparently, in London looking for a new club now that his contract is about to expire. I think he would make a good squad player but I'm not sure Arsenal will be prepared to offer him regular first-team football, and that's why I think he is more likely to choose another London club like Fulham, for example.

Another 24-year-old midfielder who could be joining us, according to the Daily Mail, is Odil Ahmedov of the Russian league. He is currently playing for Anzhi Makhachkala, who are interested in signing Robin van Persie. The way this story is going the next thing I expect to see in the newspapers is Anzhi conclude sensational swap deal with Arsenal, with the Uzbekistan International joining us and our Dutch talisman leaving us with our bank balance in super surplus again! Not really! But I thought I should put my thoughts into writing in case it does happen, in which case I will say "you heard it here first". The good thing about Ahmedov is he has been quoted as saying the following: "I want to try in England or Spain. Clearly all the clubs in Spain and England are wonderful, but I would like, if I had the choice, to play at Arsenal."

The same newspaper is suggesting that Robin van Persie is almost certain to leave. An unnamed Arsenal source said: "Arsenal know it's not about money even if they offered them personally what [Man] City can pay it would make no difference if he doesn't believe the club can challenge the trophies."

Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, remains convinced that van Persie will stay. He told Fox Soccer: "I am confident you will see Robin van Persie in the Premier league and I'm very confident you will see him and red and white." The problem I have with that comment is Manchester United also play in red and white! Surely we will not sell our best player to the team that finished just one spot above us in the league! However, stranger things have happened in football so the unexpected never really surprises me.

One striker we want be so sad to lose is Nicklas Bendtner. It sounds like our Great Dane already has a number of options on the table. He is quoted on Sky Sports as saying: "Yes, I have talked to other clubs. I have told all the clubs that I want to wait until after Euro 2012. We have got plenty of time to sort out the future." It seems that German champions Borussia Dortmund are very interested in signing the 24-year-old Denmark international striker. I know he has a reputation of being a bit of the bighead, to say the least, but I'm still not sure that he want become a big star one day. He's never going to be a Thierry Henry, yet he still offers an aerial threat in a similar way to Andy Carroll at Liverpool. If Super Nick returns to Arsenal, I for one will not be disappointed as I think the best is yet to come.

Finally, there's an interesting article on Jeorge Bird’s Arsenal Youth website which questions the club's policy of signing non-EU youngsters and then loaning them out to get a work permit elsewhere. Without stealing his thunder and going through the article in detail, I will say he mentions Carlos Vela, Pedro Botelho (who is on his fifth loan spell in Spain now), Bolivian international Samuel Galindo, Ryo Miyaichi and fractured-leg victim Wellington. It's well worth the read so I suggest you have a look for yourself.

Just before I go, I'd like to mention that I saw Arsenal transfer target Olivier Giroud play for France against Iceland as a substitute. He certainly made a difference setting up two goals which turned a certain defeat into a not particularly well deserved victory. Based on what I saw, I'd say Giroud is not blessed with blistering pace, but he's good in the air and has a deft touch on the ground. A bit like Nicklas Bendtner!