Arsenal Chase Everton's Joleon Lescott

Rumor has it that Everton defender Joleon Lescott is on Arsene Wenger's radar. However, the Arsenal manager has stated that he is unlikely to splash out any cash in the January transfer window.

Arsenal are without defenders Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue for much of January and February due to the African Cup of Nations and a recent injury to Toure may rule the central defender out for a longer period of time. Swiss defender Johan Djourou has also been injured, leaving Arsenal with only two fit central defenders in William Gallas and the injury-prone Philippe Senderos.

Wenger does not want to overload his squad with unnecessary players, and considers holding midfielder Gilberto a candidate for a spot in the center of defense if the need arises. However, With Manchester United also reportedly interested in bagging the England international defender a transfer to Arsenal looks extremely unlikely.

Nonetheless, Lescott would be a great addition to the Arsenal squad. A versatile defender, he has often been deployed at left back although his natural position is center back. This means that he could cover for Gallas, Toure, and Gael Clichy, making him a great squad player.

Lescott's hight would make him useful in defending set pieces, which has been one of Arsenal's major weak points over the last few seasons. In addition, the 25 year-old's goalscoring prowess would add yet another dimension to Arsenal's impressive offensive capabilities. Lescott has scored 5 league goals for the Toffees in 24 starts this season, a great return for a defender.

Lescott would be a great signing for Arsenal, although he would cost a tidy sum of cash considering that Everton manager David Moyes would be unwilling to part with one of his key players. I can't see the transfer going through, but I can always hope!

Arsene Wenger finally re-signs!

After months of delays and rumors, the speculation over Arsene Wenger's future has finally ended as the Arsenal manager is understood to have reached an agreement with our board of directors. The deal will tie him to Arsenal until the end of the 2010/11 season and will see Wenger making £4 million a year.

Wenger had earlier hinted that he would come out about his future some time this week, and it will come as great news to most Arsenal fans that he is going to be here for another 3 seasons after this one.

On a side note, Wenger was voted as the best manager in the Premiership for the past month on ESPN Soccernet, with 92% of voters saying that he has been doing a good job in the beginning of the season. He narrowly beat out Rafa Benitez and David Moyes who had 92% and 91% respectively. Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson had a 55% approval rate, while Jose Mourinho was approved of by only 44% of fans.

The fantastic start to the season which saw us drop only 2 points in 4 games despite two errors from Jens Lehmann will quiet any critics of Arsene's transfer policies, and the fact that he has guided the club to three Premier League titles and four FA Cup wins while playing an entertaining style of football makes me hope that he will stay at the Emirates for more than just 3 years.