More Injury Woe For Arsenal

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that Gunners defender Mikael Silvestre will be ruled out for three weeks after picking up a thigh injury, while Kolo Toure could also be facing a stint on the sidelines.

31-year-old Silvestre had to be withdrawn after half-an-hour in Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Plymouth Argyle in the third round of the FA Cup at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Wenger expects the French International to be missing for the rest of January, with Silvestre certain to miss the Premier League clashes with Bolton Wanderers, Hull City and Everton. Silvestre joins captain Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and long-term absentee Tomas Rosicky on the sidelines at the North London club.

However, Wenger also revealed that Gael Clichy should be back in time to face the Trotters at the Emirates on Saturday, but is concerned about Toure, who has an inflamed groin.

“It is a thigh problem," Wenger said about Silvestre.

“(He will be out for) three weeks, 21 days.

“I have to look at it but at the moment with the injuries we are a little bit short everywhere.

“I hope Kolo [Toure] will not be out for a very long time because he has an inflamed groin.

“On the left-hand side we are a bit short but Gael Clichy should be back for next week.”

Newcastle Desperate To Offload £5million Flop

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Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear is desperate for a Spanish club to make an offer for £5million Magpie misfit Xisco. Before Kinnear can bring in his own transfer targets to the Premier League club.

22-year-old Xisco arrived at the North East club in the summer from La Liga side Deportivo La Coruna in an initial £5.7million deal. However, the Spanish Under-21 International has failed to make an impact in the Premiership, with the striker just featuring 4 times in the league for Newcastle this season, scoring the once on his Magpies debut against Hull City.



Xisco now looks certain to depart St James’ Park, having been brought in against former manager Kevin Keegan’s wishes in the summer. Kinnear has deemed the striker surplus to requirements at Newcastle and is eager recoup of much as the fee paid for Xisco in the summer.

“If we can get back somewhere near what we paid for the player we have in mind then I could go and get another player that I want for £5m,” said Kinnear, quoted in the Sunday Sun.

“One deal will automatically trigger the next one.

“So I’m banging on the door hoping that they (the buying club) will make a decision because the player that I want is wanted by other teams too.

“The last thing I want is to let someone else get in there before we do.”

Hull, Arsenal, Blackburn & Everton On Alert As Ajax Bid For Elia Is Rejected

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Premier League clubs Arsenal, Hull City, Everton and Blackburn Rovers, will be on alert today after Eredivisie club FC Twente revealed that they have rejected a bid from Dutch rivals Ajax for winger Eljero Elia.

21-year-old Elia has attracted strong interest from the Premiership, but Ajax, are the first club to make a firm offer for the Dutch International. However, with so many clubs interested in the talented Dutchman, Twente chairman Joop Munsterman has revealed the bid by Ajax to lure Elia to the Amsterdam Arena, which he has confirmed was rejected out of hand and even went as far as to call the offer an “insult”.

“Ajax have made an offer for Eljero [Elia], but we're not even considering it,” Munsterman told TC/Tubantia.

“Ajax's offer was an insult for a player of Elia's level.”



The Tigers along with the Toffees and Blackburn are believed to have watched Elia in former England manager Steve McClaren’s Twente side that played Manchester City in the UEFA Cup recently at the Eastlands Stadium. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is understood to have been at the European clash to run the rule over Elia personally.

Elia, who joined Twente from ADO Den Haag in 2007 had attracted attention from La Liga side Valencia in the summer, but opted against a move to the Mestalla and revealed a desire to ply his trade in England one day.

McClaren has used Elia on the wing this season, but the player can play as a secondary striker and has scored 7 goals in 45 appearances for the Reds. Elia still has more than two-years to run on his present deal at the Grolsh Veste, but it is understood that Twente will not stand in the players way should a decent offer and the Premier League beckon in January.

Redknapp: "Arsenal Aren't Going To Win It This Year"

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has written off North London rivals Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League this season, with the former Portsmouth boss feeling that it will be a two-horse race between holders Manchester United and Chelsea for the Premiership this year.

This is despite the fact that Liverpool top the table at the moment, but only managed to draw with Hull City at Anfield on Saturday, while the Gunners were held 1-1, by Middlesbrough and Chelsea also were held by his former club West Ham United on Sunday.

“One of those two will win,” Redknapp said.

“That's not being too clever, though, because there's only Liverpool up there as well with them."

Redknapp, who saw his Spurs side earn a spirited point against the Red Devils at White Hart Lane at the weekend believes that Arsene Wenger’s side are already too far adrift and that Liverpool rely too heavily on captain Steven Gerrard and striker Fernando Torres and has claimed that if something should happen to Gerrard then their title claims will be over.

“Arsenal aren't going to win it this year. I can't see them coming back into it and winning the championship,” he added.

“And I think Liverpool rely so heavily on [Steven] Gerrard and [Fernando] Torres.

“If something happened to Gerrard, I don't know what they'd do. So I still see them being short of Chelsea and Manchester United."

Hull To Make January Swoop For Young Gunner?

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Premier League debutantes Hull City are understood to be considering a January swoop for highly-rated Arsenal youngster Carlos Vela, with a loan deal likely to take the Mexican International to the KC Stadium from the Emirates.

19-year-old Vela has been at the Gunners since 2005, but has been loaned out to Celta Vigo, Salamanca and Osasuna in Spain by Arsenal since his arrival at the North London club due to work permit issues.

Vela, who was finally granted a work permit in May of this year has been in superb form for the young Gunners sides that manager Arsene Wenger has played in the Carling Cup. With the young Mexican starlet scoring 4 goals in the wins against Sheffield United and Wigan Athletic, which has seen Arsenal through to the quarter-finals of the competition.

However, Vela has struggled to break into Wenger’s thoughts for the Premier League and will be thrust even further down the pecking order at the Emirates when Croatian International Eduardo makes his expected return to action with the Gunners soon.

Eduardo’s return from his broken leg will allow Wenger to let Vela leave on loan and gain some valuable Premiership experience, with the Tigers reportedly the front-runners to land the young Mexican in January on a loan deal until the ende of the season.

Hull To Beat Everton & Blackburn To Dutch Under-21 International?

Premier League debutantes Hull City are the favourites ahead of Blackburn Rovers and Everton to sign Dutch Under-21 International Eljero Elia of FC Twente after his agent Sjaron Vink revealed there had been interest from the Premiership and singled out the Yorkshire side for their progression in recent years.

The Tigers along with the Toffees and Blackburn are believed to have watched 21-year-old Elia in former England manager Steve McClaren’s Twente side that played Man City in the UEFA Cup last Thursday at the Eastlands Stadium, with Hull manager Phil Brown understood to have been there in person to run the rule over Elia.

However, Vink has conceded that there has been no official contact from any Premier League club including the Tigers.

“I know that there has been some interest in Eljero but we have not heard anything from Hull City,” Vink told setantasports.com.

“It is a dream of every Dutch player to move to England but whether that is now or in the future, I cannot say.

“In Holland we have of course heard about Hull, and the way they have progressed through the leagues very quickly.”

Elia, who joined Twente from ADO Den Haag in 2007 had attracted attention from La Liga side Valencia in the summer, but opted against a move to the Mestalla and revealed a desire to ply his trade in the Premiership.

McClaren has used Elia on the wing this season, but the player can play as a secondary striker and has more than two-years to run on his present deal at the Grolsh Veste, but it is understood that Twente will not stand in the players way should the Premier League beckon in January, with the KC Stadium the likely destination.

Janko Cool On Premier League Move - Spurs, Boro, Everton & Hull Linked

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Austrian International Marc Janko has played down reports linking the tall striker with a move to the Premier League, with the Red Bull Salzburg forward linked with Tottenham Hotspur, Hull City, Everton and Middlesbrough along with Serie A team AS Roma.

25-year-old Janko has been in fine form this campaign in the Austrian Bundesliga and has scored 20 goals in just 16 games, which has attracted interest from the Premiership as well as Italy and Germany, with Hertha Berlin linked with a move for Janko also.

Some reports have suggested that Janko could buy out his contract at the Red Bull Arena, but the Austrian press suggests that this is unlikely to happen, with the striker, who has been valued at anywhere between £4-8million insisting that for the present his main objective is to carry on scoring goals at the Die Bullen.

"For the moment, scoring goals is a lot easier than responding to all the questions and rumours about whether I will move and to which club," Janko told Kleine Zeitung.

“I must feel good to play well. In Salzburg, the environment is the best.

“(If I move) it will be based on sporting reasons, financial reasons and, above all, on how well I play.”