Arsenal Table Offer For Tresor Mputu

Congo striker Tresor Mputu's agent claims that Arsenal have made a concrete offer for the 21 year-old TP Mazembe star.

Mputu, who has scored 34 goals in 30 league games for his team, was in London on a 10 day trial which Arsene Wenger and Bajo Bujani, the player's agent, both considered to be successful.

Arsene Wenger's bid is reported to be around the £500,000 range, a great price for a player who has been called better than Cameroon and Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o. Bujani says that TP Mazembe have until Monday to respond.

Mputu also seems to be attracting interest from Spanish side Sevilla, but Bujani believes that Arsenal are leading the race to sign the Congo forward, and could snatch his signature by this weekend.

"While Seville have also shown great interest, I believe Tresor will end up in England," said the agent.

"Arsenal have given TP Mazembe until Monday to respond to their offer.

"I'm convinced that the deal will be completed after the weekend."

If he does come, Mputu might be sent on loan, rather than forced to compete for a first-team spot with the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Eduardo, Nicklas Bendtner and Carlos Vela.

Vela Not Coming To Arsenal Until Next Season

Arsenal prodigy Carlos Vela will not return from a loan at Osasuna until next Summer, said Arsene Wenger.

Many fans were expecting to see the 18 year-old meet up with the squad in London in January, but it now seems that he will not even be cleared to play in England until March.

Arsene Wenger said that Arsenal scouts watch every game he plays, and that upon joining up with the Gunners in England he will immediately be part of the first-team squad.

Unfortunately, though, Arsenal fans will have to wait until the 2008/09 season to see the future Henry in action.

Wenger told Arsenal.com: "He can apply for a passport in March and normally he will start with us next summer.

"He will straight away be with the first-team and after that it is up to him to get a place in the side.

"I sent him to Spain because he comes from a Mexican culture and it is easier to adapt in Europe. He has what we like here at Arsenal. He is a good passer of the ball and a finisher. He has that intelligent movement with very good technique and great pace."

Could Carlos Vela be Arsenal's Next Henry?

Arsenal are, without a doubt, one of the offensive powerhouses of English football despite having lost talismanic striker Thierry Henry to Barcelona during the summer.

The Gunners are currently on top of the Premier League and its goalscoring charts, having notched up 27 goals in 12 league matches. Outside of the Premier League, Arsenal have scored 19 goals in seven outings, including a 7-0 drubbing of Slavia Prague at the Emirates.

Arsene Wenger has three quality forwards (Theo Walcott, Eduardo, and Nicklas Bendtner) at his disposal in addition to the impressive first-choice strike force of Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor. Nonetheless, the Arsenal manager is reportedly bringing young Mexican striker Carlos Vela back from a loan spell at Osasuna this January, now that the youngster has cleared up issues with his work permits.

What could another eighteen year-old possibly add to Arsenal’s game?

To answer that question, let’s look back to the 2003/04 season. Arsenal fans will remember the season as the one in which the Gunners went undefeated in the Premiership, finishing 11 points clear of their nearest rivals, Chelsea. Anyone remember the name of our top scorer?

The great Thierry Henry scored 30 Premier League goals that season. That’s one and a half times as many as Didier Drogba scored last year to win last season’s golden boot. Last season the injury-ridden Frenchman only managed 10 goals, one behind Arsenal’s top-scorer, another injury-plagued player, Robin van Persie.

Now don’t get me wrong, Van Persie is a great player. He has a powerful left foot, and his finishing is excellent. He could feasibly win this season’s golden boot and, at 24, the Dutchman still has quite a future ahead of him.

But can he fill the void left by Henry’s departure? The unfortunate truth is that it’s unlikely.

That’s where Vela comes in. The Mexican wunderkind is one of the most prodigious talents in Europe. Vela won the golden boot and player of the tournament at the U17 World Cup, and has already spent a full season playing first team football, making 31 starts (and scoring eight times) with UD Salamanca in the Spanish Segunda Division. He has also featured twice for the senior Mexican national team, scoring in a 3-2 loss to Guatemala.

Clearly he has quite a pedigree for a youngster. But what makes him stand out from the rest and why might he become the next Henry?

First of all, he has the talent. His intelligence and pace are unrivaled by anyone his age and his first touch, dribbling ability and finishing technique are all excellent. He also has a huge amount of first-team experience for such a young player, which will only add to his usefulness once he arrives in Britain.

What’s most important though, is that he fits right in to the Arsenal mould. His first goal for Osasuna saw the young Mexican play the ball to a teammate before running into space to pick it up again a few yards outside the penalty box. Upon receiving the return pass he seamlessly integrated the ball into his stride, showing excellent close control before finishing with his left foot on the edge of the 18 yard box. The finish was Henry-esque, flying past the keeper into the roof of the net. The way Vela’s qualities were tailor-made to Arsenal was uncanny.

We will have to wait quite a while until we see Vela nail down a first-team spot under Arsene Wenger, and Arsenal will continue scoring goals with the current form of Alex Hleb and Cesc Fabregas complementing our forwards, perhaps eventually winning the Premier League or Champions League.

But when Vela does come of age, which may be sooner than most people think, he might provide 20 or 30 goals a season. And when that rings true, we might have on our hands a repeat of the unthinkable - a second undefeated season.

Arsenal Rumors: Adriano and Agbonlahor

Despite having scored the most goals of any team in the Premiership so far this season, Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger seems to be in hot pursuit of another striker or two.

21 year-old Congo striker Tresor Mputu is currently on trial with the Gunners, and Wenger looks set upon recalling teenage striking sensation Carlos Vela from his loan at Osasuna now that work permit restrictions have been worked out. Adding these two to an already impressive forward contingent of Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor, Eduardo, Theo Walcott, and Nicklas Bendtner would form quite an impressive front line. But Arsene Wenger wants more.

New rumors state that the Arsenal coach may look to sign out of favor Inter Milan striker Adriano on loan in January. The 25 year-old has only started four games for the Italian champions this season, and his club will be looking to escape paying his high wages by sending him out on loan.

I doubt the move will materialize though, especially considering that Wenger rejected a similar move in the summer.

At that point in time Wenger told reporters: "He [Adriano] is not needed. I was not out there [in the market] to take a striker on loan."

The next rumor could be more plausible though.

Arsenal could be looking to sign 21 year-old Gabriel Agbonlahor from Aston Villa. The move would be good for Arsenal's image with the British media, as the young striker is one of England's top prospects. Agbonlahor scored 9 league goals last season and looks like he will score many more this time around, already having scored five in his first twelve league games.

The England U21 player would be great as an impact substitute, or even starting alongside Robin van Persie. However, he would be tough to pry away from Aston Villa, who are currently trying to break in to the top-four cartel.

The striker would cost a reported £15 million, which I think would be a fair price for such a great talent.

Arsene Wenger always surprises in the transfer window though, and he's already stated that he only wants to strengthen one position in January, so we'll see what actually happens then.

Carlos Vela: Coming Soon

Carlos Vela will be cleared to play for Arsenal in January following loan moves to Celta de Vigo, Salamanca, and Osasuna. The prodigious Mexican striker joined Arsenal in 2005 for a fee of £2.5 million, but was unable to join the club due to work permit restrictions.

It is rumored that Arsene Wenger will recall the forward from his most recent loan at Osasuna during January's transfer window.

The 18 year-old was signed from Chivas de Guadalajara after winning the golden boot in the 2005 U-17 World Cup. He is a promising young striker who can also play as a winger, and his ability is already seeing him being likened to Kaka and Ronaldinho.

The Mexican whizkid has already scored his first international goal for his country's senior side, having scored in Los Angeles in a 3-2 defeat to Guatemala.

Click here to see a video of some of what Vela has to offer - take a look at the pace he shows in the second goal... seems like we've got a kid who can mix the speed of Theo Walcott with the opportunism of Eduardo.