Dismissing reports that Arsenal have made a move for St Etienne midfielder Loic Perrin, Arsene Wenger has insisted he is not casting around for potential replacements for Mathieu Flamini.
The France international is out of contract at the end of the season and, with talks over a new deal still to be resolved, there have been suggestions that Wenger is planning to compensate for his potential departure by making a new signing.
Wenger has made clear his priority is to keep Flamini though, disregarding any suggestions that Perrin is a target for the North London club.
“That’s not true,” Wenger told Arsenal TV regarding the reports surrounding Perrin.
“I’m not looking for any replacements for Flamini. I am first looking to keep my players together, and the second step, then we will see but my first intention is to keep the players I have.”
Wenger remains positive that Flamini will commit his future to the club, despite persistent reports linking him with Juventus, and has revealed talks could be coming to a conclusion in the coming weeks.
He added: “We are on course there, negotiations are going well and we hope to sort that out in April.”
Gilberto Silva’s future looks far less assured though as Flamini’s excellent form has restricted the Brazil international to late cameos as a substitute this season and he has openly admitted he may have to leave Emirates Stadium in the summer for the good of his career.
Whilst Wenger is reluctant to speculate on whether Gilberto will indeed leave the club, the Arsenal manager has confirmed he will hold talks with the club’s second longest serving player at the end of the season.
“It is down to Gilberto’s desire because at the moment he doesn’t play,” said Wenger.
“We will sit down together, we are adults and Gilberto is a very strong man and a good personality and he will know what he wants to do at the end of the season.
“I will be happy if he stays but we will sort that out at the end of the season. He is a fantastic player and a fantastic personality. He has a lot of credit in the group and a lot of quality, his bad luck is that we started without him and we have done well.”
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