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Wenger On Khedira, Balotelli, Vermaelen, Quintero + Schneiderlin

By on August 1, 2014

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been speaking at his pre-match press conference today ahead of this weekends Emirates Cup.

Among other things, the boss was asked for the latest on several transfer stories that have been doing the rounds in recent weeks, so I’ll bring you the latest on what the Frenchman had to say.

The latest rumour that’s been circulating over the past 24 hours suggests that Porto youngster Juan Quintero is set for a €20m move to the Emirates. However, Arsene was quick to dismiss the story, simply saying reports linking the Colombian to Arsenal are ‘wrong’.

Arsene compared the rumours to that of Balotelli – who was also strongly linked with a move to Arsenal earlier in the summer – and the boss insists we are not in for either player.

The Frenchman was also quizzed about links to Sami Khedira, and he was a little less conclusive, saying that he didn’t want to speak about individual players but insists we aren’t close to signing anyone.

Another player who has been hotly tipped to make the move to Arsenal is Morgan Schneiderlin but again Arsene played down the speculation insisting he hasn’t spoken to Southampton about the midfielder.

However, one player that seems certain to move is Thomas Vermaelen and although Wenger confirmed the Belgian has a short-term injury, he admitted there’s a good chance he will leave the club this summer, but thankfully he also confirmed we will replace him.

Here is what Arsene said on each player:

On Quintero:

“No, that is wrong”

On Balotelli:

“For weeks we were buying Balotelli from one minute to the other and it was all wrong. We were never in for him,” insisted Wenger.

“We do not master the noises that come out.”

On Khedira:

‘I don’t want to give you any names,’

‘We are not close to signing anybody at the moment.’

On Schneiderlin:

“I wouldn’t like to speak about any names because I wouldn’t want to unsettle Southampton and we have not spoken to Southampton about him.”

On Vermaelen:

“At the moment he is here. He has a short-term injury. But, yes, it’s a possibility that he goes.

“If he goes, we have to replace him. I expect him to stay but he he did not play enough games last year.”