Arsenal linked with three youngsters

The summer transfer window ended with the surprise last-minute signing of Lassana Diarra from Chelsea. Apparently the excitement of this move was not enough to quell rumors linking Arsenal with other players for the January transfer window.

Talking Soccer today linked Arsenal with three youngsters who are in the vein of players that Arsene Wenger would sign.

The first of these is Diego Capel, a 19 year-old Spaniard. The Sevilla midfielder has been filling in for the injured Brazilian Adriano (not the striker), and has made quite a name for himself in the few games he has played. With an £8 million release clause in his current contract, it seems as though Arsenal may be keen to sign him in January.

Apparently Greek defender Socratis Papastathopoulos is also on Arsene Wenger's wishlist. The 20 year-old AEK Athens defender caught Wenger's eye while he was scouting out Diego Capel in Sevilla, and has now been linked with Arsenal.

Marko Arnautovic, an 18 year-old striker playing with FC Twente in the Dutch Eredivisie, is yet another youngster to be linked with Arsenal. The 6 ft 3 in Austrian wunderkind is reportedly being tracked by many European clubs including Arsenal and Chelsea and the bidding could begin as soon as the next transfer window.

While I normally try to avoid articles which aren't well backed-up, the fact that there were three players being mentioned over at Talking Soccer made me bite. While the veracity of these claims is certainly questionable, at least this may foreshadow in small part the events of January's transfer window.