Arsenal Transfers – Wenger To Land An Asian And A Ligue 2 Midfielder?

The Arab club’s deputy chairman, Rashid bin Mubarak Al Hajri has stated that the Gunners have shown an affinity for Omar who impressed the world with his skills in 2012 Olympic Games for UAE. In his five seasons at Al-Ain, Omar appeared 80 times. He has a tally of 25 goals and 29 assists for the Arab club.

According to Hajri, Arsenal have to face tough competitions if they want to land him at The Emirates. There are other clubs are also in search of the talented youngster.

“Have we had an offer from Arsenal for him to come to train? Then yes,” Al Hajri told reporters. “We’ve also had offers from Spanish teams, and other teams also, but the player will decide ultimately.

“We [have received] a lot of offers for Omar. If he finds the right environment, then we will be very supportive.

“It’s a package that will have to be right, where he can improve his football. I’ll leave that for Omar – that’s for him to decide.”

Wenger wants to see the player up close on a trail at Emirates, but the chairman of Al Ain’s board of directors says the club will consider only “serious” offers for Omar Abdulrahman, an indication that Arsenal’s invitation for the midfielder to go to London for a one-week trial will be ignored.

Besides Omar, Wenger is also eyeing another not-so-popular player. Alharbi El Jadeyaoui, a 27-year old midfielder currently plying his trade at French Ligue 2 side Angers. Reportedly, he has been offered a two-day trial by the French manager after which he can get a contract from the Arsenal, provided he must impress the Arsenal boss.

El Jadeyaoui gave a week-long trial in 2009 at Blackburn Rovers while Sam Allardyce was in charge. But much to the player’s misfortune, the trial did not work and he had to leave the Rovers with empty hand. But this time it may change, as Wenger is desperate to add new names in the squad. So far, Wenger has managed to assign only Yaya Sanogo, though Arsenal have been linked with so many players.