Barcelona officially bids for Fabregas, Laurent Koscielny interested in joining Arsenal

We dreaded it for a while, now its officially confirmed. Last night Barcelona faxed an official bid for Fabregas. Though the price is still not confirmed, bid is supposed to be in the range of 30m pounds. Arsenal in response have made it clear once again that, Fabregas is not for sale. Arsenal statement added,

"To be clear, we will not make any kind of counterproposal or enter into any discussion. Barcelona have publicly stated that they will respect our position and we expect that they
will keep their word."

I don't see this being the last bid from Barcelona even though we have made it clear that player is not for sale. Their initial bid of 30m is kind of a joke. I cant imagine Fabregas leaving Arsenal for anything less than 65m pounds. I am still finding it hard to believe how did they evaluate Ibrahimovic at 66m pounds who was already 27 when he signed for the club. Fabregas on the other hand is 23 and is a popular figure in Spain. No wonder the club is having a debt of 420m pounds and still counting. Further goes to show the calibre of people running the club. Its more like a political party rather then a football club.

I am a big fan of Fabregas and the way he has conducted untill now. I hope he continues to behave professionally in case his transfer to Barcelona takes longer then expected. We all know for sure that Barcelona can fall to any level to sign a player and that could also mean asking Fabregas to openly criticize Arsene & Arsenal. If that happens it would be a sad end to his illustrious Arsenal career and something that no Arsenal fans would wish.

Theo Walcott is not picked for England's squad and that comes as a big surprise for me. Yes, Theo dint have the greatest of seasons this year due to injuries however his comeback has been good enough to earn him a place. Adam Johnson who is a regular for Man city ahead of Shawn Wright Phillips would have been my ideal pick as he his good with crosses and has good pace to go with it which is needed from a winger. I am sure this missed opportunity for Theo will pan out well for Arsenal as it would make him more hungry next season and he will come out all guns blazing for Arsenal.

If reports are to be believed, Arsenal are ready to let Francis Coquelin go to Lorient on loan in order to seal Laurent Koscielny swoop. I haven't seen much of Laurent Koscielny to comment on him however If we were to loose Gallas who looks set to join Roma, we might want to sign an experienced central defender to play along side Vermaelon. Though Vermaelon had an excellent season last year he needs someone more experienced to partner him which would in enable his further growth.

More on Fabregas transfer and other Arsenal transfer news tomorrow, untill then keep Gunning....