Stefano

Seen that. No link provided and user appropiately named 'conman' has vanished.

Must be true if it was on RAWK. Do you really believe Rafa would stand for selling one of our best players and not being able to spend the proceeds?

What about this lad at .40. Reminiscent of a certain shaggy scouser. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0YaUOA6U4g

We control the vast majority of posession in our games, with the onus on us to break well drilled teams down, and need players in midfield who are all comfortable switching around, picking the ball up in deeper areas and dictating play. We'll certainly miss the calm assurance of Alonso but hopefully now we'll see better movement throughout the team and more variety to our play. So who's next on the list? Distin?

Surprise, surprise, the Indi are running with the Mussolini controversy. That's his image f***ed.

She'll look great walking around Tesco's in Woolton Village.

The majoriity of Italian sites said it was 20 million euros and our media are saying it's sterling? Typical. I'm exctited but not kidding myself that this transfer isn't a concern. It's a lot of money for a player who has had undoubted injury problems and won't even be fit to start his first season in a different league and culture, and all the issues that go with that.

Nice one. I can't see any major problems for them there. Atletico is the obvious stand out.

Can anyone work out the new format and who Arsenal can get? Trust UEFA to complicate a simple system for basically the same outcome.

It originated on the offal. Just more nonsense.

So he made a simple mistake, big deal.

Wasnt that the original story? I didn't see anything about everything being agreed, just that we'd been give permission to speak to the player, which indicates we've come to an arrangement with Roma.

Worth watching just for the lino falling over. I liked the look of Spearing and Lucas in midfield, makings of a nice little partnership there.

Update from RAWK Italian bloke: Aquilani will undergo a medical by Friday and if he signs he will earn 4 million euro (3.5million pounds) for 5 years, that is, the double of what he earns at Roma. The player, who will cost 20million euro in total, is excited about the move. The medical is crucial. (Italian news)

I thought they were trying to sell him? Wasn't he linked with Spurs recently? If they are desperate to get shot of him he might be cheaper than Silva, who I can't see going for the best part of 30 million.

Riera is more of an out and out winger and would provide that option. Silva plays a little more tucked in and looks to link up with the front man.

I know he's a old looking t*** but I'd have Robben here if he's surplus to requirements at Madrid. He looks to have got over the worst of his injury problems and on his day is still lethal. Not as controlled as Silva but would give us something different, and would probably be cheaper. Whether Madrid would give us an easy time after the Alonso saga, I don't know. Though if he interested Rafa we would have already tried to get him as part of the deal.

Yep, very similar. Yoss is a bit more direct though. I'd love both of them in the side or as options off the bench.

Silva would be brilliant. He can flit in and out of games but he's a clever little player who uses the ball well and can slot in all along the front line. Have a feeling that ship has sailed though unless we offer someone as part of the deal. Give them Babel.

No, as I said earlier, I'd be surprised if it wasn't the first thing we checked.

The medical is just a routine test to see if there are any long term underlying issues. I'd be surprised and disapointed if we hadn't already found out the extent of his injury and recovery time.

Bit of a concern that we're leaving it so late to be convinced of his fitness. Although I'd be surprised if it wasn't the first thing we checked before making an approach. The press are usually a long way behind these things.

If this was Rafa giving his honest opinion on the mancs chances, it would be 'Rafa rants again' and various insults about his mental state.

Why would Arsenal sell us Fabregas?

Yeah, just seen a few links. Not the best sources mind, most just reporting the Alonso deal and assuming the Aqualini deal will now go through because of it. Maybe he's talking s****.