Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has today confirmed the signing of French centre-back Sebastien Squillaci fromSevilla.
The Spanish club had announced at the weekend that a £6.5 million deal had been agreed between the clubs, nd today the Gunners have announced the capture of the French international
The 30-year-old centre-back will not be available for the weekend game against Blackburn Rovers but he will be eligible for the Champions League campaign, after he was left out of Sevilla's play-off with Sporting Braga.
Speaking in a press conference today, Wenger stated that he is in no doubt the Gunners have acquired a fine player who will suit the fast-paced style of the Premier League.
"We needed a centre-back of quality and experience if possible, and at the right price - he was all of that," Wenger told reporters.
"He is a real defender and is good in the one against one, good in the air, and can score goals on set-pieces as well.
"I believe he will be suited to the English game. He will train with us tomorrow morning, but will not be involved on Saturday."
Squillaci moved to Sevilla in the summer of 2008 from Ligue 1 side Lyon, and has been capped 21 times for France.
Bebé was the first player Alex Ferguson signed as Manchester United manager without seeing him play or watching him on video. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA
When Manchester United made Bebé the most improbable signing of the summer Sir Alex Ferguson argued there was no risk attached, explaining that "sometimes you just have to go with instinct". Yet a fortnight on, the striker's career at Old Trafford has got off to a false start, his performances in training deemed so poor he was not even considered for a reserve fixture last night.
Bebé, signed from the Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães for £7.4m, was conspicuously absent when United's second team took on the Elite Squad – Manchester City's new name for their reserves – in Hyde. This was supposed to be the first chance for Ferguson to see the 20-year-old in match action but the United manager reconsidered after discussion with the reserves' coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The first disappointment for Bebé may not be entirely unexpected given the strange circumstances of the transfer. After an undistinguished spell at the Portuguese Third Division club Estrala da Amadora he was available on a free transfer seven weeks ago, but United did not sign the player, affiliated to the influential agent Jorge Mendes, until after he had joined Guimarães, paying the full €9m buy-out clause.
On top of that, Ferguson subsequently admitted Bebé was the first player he had signed in 24 years as manager at Old Trafford without seeing him play or watching him on video. Instead, the Scot said he had taken the word of scouts as well as Portugal's manager, Carlos Queiroz, formerly his assistant at Old Trafford. "It was one of those decisions that had to be made quickly, so I made it quickly," Ferguson said. "I don't think it's a risk."
According to the United manager, Real Madrid and Benfica were also interested in the striker but after the big build-up, the Guardian has established that the first impressions of Bebé have been below expectations. In particular, his touch and control has not been of the standard the club demands – hence his absence from a reserve fixture that saw Anderson make his comeback after six months out with a knee injury. It is understood there have been meetings in which the coaches have expressed misgivings about how long it might be before Bebé can challenge for a first-team place consistently.
The hope at Old Trafford is that he will improve once he is fitter and more confident. Bebé was always identified as a player for the future and Ferguson already has Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen, Javier Hernández and Federico Macheda in attack.
Ironically, Bebé has been lined up to make his first appearance for his country against England in an Under-21 European Championship qualifier on 3 September.
Adriano Galliani has had lunch with Barcelona chiefs and confirmed the Italian club are serious about bringingZlatanIbrahimovic to Milan.
Galliani was in the company of Milan director Ariedo Braida and the two were then joined by Barcelona chief Sandro Rosell, and sports director Andoni Zubizaretta.
And the meal of the day was to cook up talks for Ibrahimovic, who has long been on Milan's menu. Galliani then gave the press a bellyful of answers that confirm the club's will to snap up the star.
"I will stay in Barcelona tomorrow to deal, as negotiations have now started and we can continue to talk," he told the press.
"There is no need to be positive or negative. We had lunch and we have started to talk, but there is still plenty in the way.
"We have to wait a long time before we can close a deal. Have I spoken with 'Ibra'? No, not yet. I want to bring him back with me to Milan."
Galliani did not elaborate on the specifications of his dinner date with Blaugrana chiefs, but what is certain is that there could be major developments between now and the end of the transfer window next week.
Earlier La Gazzetta dello Sport claimed the Italian would indeed be meeting Blaugrana chief Sandro Rosell as negotiations developed.
Galliani has already confirmed talks could last all week and he is prepared to squeeze the Catalans into a deal.
"If there was a need then I could stay there and negotiate until August 31," he said.
The operation though is likely to raise some uncomfortable questions for the chief as Barcelona are not keen on losing their man in a loan deal.
Milan want a swap loan deal between 'Ibra' and Marco Borriello as they cannot afford a cash transfer, but the Catalans seem reluctant to take the Italian.
Ibrahimovic's agent has made it clear his client was not prepared to move on loan and said only a permanent deal could lift the transfer off the ground.
"No loan deals unless its for four years. Ibrahimovic will only leave if it's a permanent deal, but for now we have no agreements with Milan," said Raiola.
Sky Sport Italia now report that Milan have left for Barcelona from Malpensa airport this morning.
They head to Camp Nou for the Gamper Trophy. Galliani though was not with the squad. He will fly out from Pisa later and meet them in Spain.
The event will allow Galliani to rub shoulders with his Spanish colleagues, but there is still a major barrier between the two clubs over the Sweden hitman.
Massimiliano Allegri hinted Ibrahimovic's possible arrival wouldn't make a difference to his plans for the season.
"It doesn't matter whether he arrives or not," were his brief words to Sky Sport Italia.
Manchester City are also keeping tabs on developments, but voices in Italy suggest the striker would prefer a Serie A return.
Gareth Barry celebrates scoring Manchester City's opening goal against Liverpool. Photograph: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto
Manchester City did far more than take their first Premier League victory of this campaign. They claimed the win by the sort of margin associated with sides who are viewed as credible candidates for the major prizes.
Luck also went against Liverpool here on occasion, but the home crowd had its glimpse of the spectacle that is now demanded here. In patches at least, the flow and danger were obvious. Time, too, is in the side that is clearly taking shape.
Before a watching Sheikh Mansour, City's benefactor even more than its owner, there was an opulent opening goal as early as the 13th minute. Visitors known for their rigour were still left powerless by the fluency of a move that also showed surprising understanding in a line-up that remains under development.
Adam Johnson, in his first start of the campaign, slid a pass between Milan Jovanovic and Daniel Agger, with James Milner, on his debut, slipped into space on the right before pulling the cross back for Gareth Barry to side-foot the ball into the net.
The breakthrough appeared to augur well, but City showed little further interest in laying on a spectacle before the interval. That was not so very great a surprise. Roberto Mancini has tried to look methodical and even downbeat in his management, as if he could personally offset the bemusement and disbelief that swirls around a club of unequalled means.
The prosaic streak was its broadest when he opened the Premier League campaign with a cautious approach at White Hart Lane.
Even if he was wilfully refusing to play to the gallery, a goalless draw must have been entirely satisfactory against Tottenham Hotspur, who beat City to the spot in the Champions League qualifiers.
A first home fixture of the campaign, against Liverpool, seemed to demand that Mancini reveal more of his intentions. Circumspection could not be the order of the day when Milner, signed from Aston Villa in a deal valued at £26m, was making his debut on the left wing.
Nonsensical as it sounds after all the outlay, City, however, can be as rueful as any other club when a player is missing. Mario Balotelli, a £24m acquisition from Internazionale, might have been of use, but a striker who, on his debut, scored the only goal of the away match with Timisoara in the Europa League was ruled out with a knee problem.
Momentum and credibility for City can only have their origin in victories and those results, above all, must come in a steady flow at this stadium, yet they hardly reduced the visitors to panic in the first half. Liverpool were a good test of City's means.
They were bound to be obstinate under the management of that formidable organiser Roy Hodgson, even if the manager did not have Javier Mascherano in his squad as conjecture swelled of an imminent move to Barcelona.
The visitors, with Fernando Torres making his first start for the club since Spain's World Cup triumph, was paired with the improving David Ngog. Hodgson's conundrum lay in the inability of his team to advance with purpose. Shortly before half-time, Torres did set up Steven Gerrard for a drive that flew offside.
The incident did not amount to much, but it should have sufficed to remind City that victory was not assured. Mancini is still to establish a style that will make visitors quake. He will have to do so since clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester United, who truly see themselves as champions in waiting, can inflict terror on visitors. City did well enough initially but there was nothing then to make Liverpool despair completely.
The real sense that the match was slipping out of their reach did not come until City extended their lead in the 53rd minute. A Micah Richards header was forced in off Glen Johnson. Hodgson's team did not lack the spirit to react and attempts from Ngog and Torres in succession came back off the post. But it did not look feasible that City, for all their previous history of eccentricity, would fail here.
Their third goal duly arrived. Martin Skrtl's challenge brought down Adam Johnson in the 67th minute and Tevez converted the penalty in his usual forthright manner. The winger Johnson had shown in the incident the incident the elusiveness that makes him a crucial figure, even if he did come at the cost of a mere £7m from Middlesbrough.
Liverpool, for their part, were unlucky as well as outmatched and the substitute Ryan Babel was, for instance, no sooner on the pitch for Torres than his shot from the right cannoned off the post. All the same, City had an effectivness here that had nothing at all to do with luck
After already having turned down a switch to Manchester City this summer, it seems that Gianluigi Buffon could still yet have a future in the north of England following recent reports in the News Of The World.
Sir Alex Ferguson has always been a long admirer of the Italian goalkeeper and it is now believed Manchester United are lining up an €18 million bid for Buffon.
The English giants are well aware that current custodian Edwin Van der Sar must eventually be replaced given that he will turn 40 in October. However, much depends on the success of new Juve coach Luigi Del Neri, who took over the Italian giants this summer.
Should the tactician manage to install some stability at the club, it is likely that the Bianconeri will look to cash in on Buffon, who has struggled with a number of back injuries over the last twelve months.
Like Didier Drogba and Theo Walcott before him, Andy Carroll grabbed a hat-trick and Kevin Nolan scored twice as Newcastle thrashed Aston Villa.
Joey Barton gave the Magpies the lead when he thumped in from 20 yards before Nolan headed in on the half-hour mark and Carroll drilled in to make it 3-0.
Carroll scored his second from similar distance after the break, Nolan hooked in the fifth from close range before Carroll swept in his third late on.
John Carew wasted Villa's best chance when he blazed his penalty over at 0-0.
Barcelona rendered the 1st Leg defeat meaningless as they outclassed a poor Sevilla side thanks to a hat-trick from Lionel Messi and an own goal courtesy of Abdoulay Konko.
From the whistle Barcelona were camped in the Sevilla half and it didn't take long before Barca took the lead, thanks to an own goal. Pedro slalomed between two Sevilla defenders as he rushed into the penalty area, his cut-back cross was cruelly slotted home by Sevilla defender Konko.
Knowing they were still behind on aggregate the home team continued to pile on the pressure and got their just rewards ten minutes later as Xavi played a beautiful 20 yard slide-rule pass directly through the heart of the Sevilla backline and Lionel Messi was there to collect the ball and slot home past a stranded Andres Palop.
The Rojiblancos were stunned and game was beginning to resemble a training exercise as the La Liga champions dominated possession and territory. Sevilla couldn't get near the ball in midfield as Xavi completely ran the game.
Then some truly mesmerising play from Barca, Dani Alves playing a one-two down the right side, cutting in at the edge of the 18 yard box, onto his left foot he crossed low for Messi at the near post whose run was exquisitely time and he fired into the roof of the net past a helpless Palop.
More of the same ensued in the second half with Barcelona zipping the ball round with ease.
David Villa made his debut for his new team and looked at ease on the left side of the front three, but he was denied a goal by Palop who palmed his volley out for a corner.
Sevilla did though find some rhythm thanks to the introduction of Luis Fabiano, the Brazilians movement and presence much more effective than Negredo.
The game did open up in the final 15 minutes as Sevilla pushed for a goal, with Jesus Navas seeing more of the ball as the Rojiblancos but Barca were always dangerous on the counter.
Messi then wrapped up the match and grabbed his hat-track in the 89th minute as Barcelona went on to life the Super Cup.
Sevilla will now look to pick themselves up against Braga in the 2nd Leg of their Champions League Qualifier on and Barcelona play Racing Santander in La Liga on the 29th August
