Arsenal to Sell Five as Arsene Wenger Targets French International Pair

Andrey Arshavin’s loan spell at Zenit St Petersburg is set to become permanent if the Russian club agree to pay an £8million fee.

Nicklas Bendtner, Carlos Vela, Sebastien Squillaci and Denilson could also all go this summer, but their high salaries mean shifting them is proving a major problem. They have already signed Cologne’s Germany forward Lukas Podolski and are close to agreeing a £12m deal for Montpellier and France striker Olivier Giroud and also want Rennes’ French international midfielder Yann M’Vila.

 Arsene Wenger stands to gain a lot from the rejuvenate form shown by Andrei Arshavin over the past few months.

 The Russian international was looking increasingly forlorn at the Emirates Stadium prior to a successful loan spell at his former club Zenit, during which time he helped them to a Russian Premier League title, and this has led to a better run of form for his national team.

 Having helped Russia to an easy 3-0 win against Italy in a warm-up match Arshavin then put in a top notch display to help Russia to thrash the Czech Republic 4-1.

 Wenger will therefore either garner the fruits of that return to form by bringing the 31 year old back into the fold or if he does choose to sell the winger then he will have less of a problem getting a side to meet his £8m asking price.

 The Gunners boss may opt to sell Arshavin as he has the likes of Gervinho, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ryo Miyaichi to use as wide options.

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Andrey Arshavin transfer talks re-opened between Arsenal and Zenit

Arshavin is all but certain to quit Arsenal this summer, having fallen out-of-favour with Arsene Wenger after asking to return to Zenit on loan last January.

 The decision to leave north London upset Wenger, but Arshavin underwent something of a rejuvenation back in his homeland, scoring three goals and assisting four more in 19 matches, as Zenit cruised to the Russian league title.

 The switch also proved key in securing Arshavin's place as captain and starter in Russia's Euro team, where he has impressed so far, turning in a classy display in the 4-1 win over Czech Republic.

  Zenit have maintained their interest in re-signing Arshavin on a permanent basis, but talks had been postponed until after Euro 2012, in a bid to avoid unsettling the player.

 However, with Arshavin's stock on the rise, Zenit have returned to the negotiating table, and held informal talks with Arsenal over the weekend, with a proper meeting set to follow.

 Zenit value Arshavin at around £5 million, but Arsenal want to recoup a decent amount of the £15 million they handed over in January 2008, and have asked for closer to £8 million.

 The Gunners know they hold all the cards, and have also received tentative interest from Fulham, something that has alerted Zenit, especially as Arshavin's family would love to remain in London. More talks are expected next week.

 Elsewhere, another Arsenal fringe player, Johan Djourou, is lining up a move away from London, with Serie A his likely destination.

 Djourou has told his representatives to help find him a new club, having slipped down the pecking order at the Emirates, and his agent is due in Italy this week for talks with prospective clubs.

 Napoli are long-term admirers of the Swiss international, who also has interest in Spain.

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