Speaking to the press, the Ivorian was asked about the interest of Marseille and this is what he had to say

If I want to leave, people will want me.

Marseille is one of the leading French clubs and I have a good relationship with some people there.

I cannot say yes or no but it is always flattering for a player to know that there are a lot of clubs who want him.

So. There you go.

The interview was given shortly after Ivory Coast defeated Tanzania 4-2.

Thanks to @Bgunners42 who was the first with the help when I asked for a bit of assistance with the translation.

So what we get drunk #so what we smoke weed #we are just having fun #thats how its supposed to be…

Yes, yes, we know they are the lyrics to a song featuring Snoop Dog. Still, hardly the image of a professional footballer is it really?

Though Bendtner being stoned all the time would certainly explain a lot of things, that’s for sure.

Earlier today, Frankfurt said they were in serious talks with Bendtner over a deal to bring him to Germany. Reports that they have not yet been able to agree on what munchies will be included in his bonus payments are, as of now, unconfirmed.

It is also not clear what Bendtner will do next to continue his recent commitment to putting an end to all doubt over his intelligence levels.

Bendtner was recently arrested [and banned] for drink driving and accused of throwing a glass at a taxi driver outside a nightclub and still he wonders why he hasn’t quite fulfilled his destiny as the Greatest Striker Who Ever Lived.

Tweet him if you have the answer @bendtnerb52

Here, read it for yourself:

Asked if he was happy with his first season in England he replied

Not all games have been successful, even in the last round against Newcastle we fought for the win to secure a good future and to keep us to a certain level. Arsenal in the Champions League for 15 years in a row.

I think next season will be much better.

It was a big jump for me. Previously, for three years I played with FC Koln to survive in the Bundesliga and it’s a little different level.

Do you like it in London?

[I] Quite enjoy it. London is a renovated city. English League is also great. There is no downtime. All the time quick action, the pace and the fans who sit near the end line in the middle

Asked about the other Poles at the club, Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny

Sure, all the time we talk in Polish, in the locker room, on the bus.

Asked about Lewandowski to and all the fuss about his link to Bayern Munich he said

First of all, it should be him that will decide, not journalists or managers.

This is a guy who in the league this season scored 24 goals.

He could handle it virtually anywhere. [A] perfect fit, at least to us, to Arsenal.

So, there you go. Hope you told him that Polid!

Thanks to @Melbgunner for the heads up on the interview.

They claim the player is worth €30m.

Illarramendi, who has been dubbed the new Xabi Alonso, is only 23 years old and while he has yet to make the breakthrough in to the senior Spanish national side, he has represented his club at every other level.

Again, as we said yesterday when we reported the rumour from the Daily Mail, there is no way to know if this is a valuation that Arsenal have made or one which the paper has plucked out of the air to help fill their column.

Regardless, Marca believe the €30m price tag is non-negotiable and while that is probably not strictly true there is no way Arsenal would consider paying anything close to that.

Real Madrid are also said to be interested in the player however they, along with Barcelona, tend to be interested in just about everybody, so I don’t know how much truth there is in that rumour either.

Illarramendi signed a six year contract [until June 2018] with Real Sociedad in November, saying at the time

I do not go crazy with praise.

I really like the project of Real and do not see myself at another club.

I am very happy here and very excited about the future, I feel loved.

Bruchhagen said

We are talking seriously with Bendtner

See, told you.

Frankfurt are keen to wrap up the transfer within the next week so that Bendtner can join training with the team next Wednesday.

With only one year left on his Arsenal contract it is believed Arsenal are looking for a fee in the region of €5million for the Danish striker who spent his time last season between Juventus’ bench and treatment table.

During the transfer window last summer Bendtner had the  option of moving to a number of clubs where he would have been first choice, but his insistence on Champions League football meant that he saw very little playing time in any competition.

He is now believed to be prepared to forgo the demand of Champions League football in order to actually get a game.

Let’s hope he managed to remember to put his clothes on before any meetings.

According to the Spanish site Sport, Barcelona have made contact with Arsenal regarding the signing of centreback Laurent Koscielny and although they offer no sources for the information it’s not beyond the realms to believe that a player whose own agent said was interesting Barcelona has been enquired about.

Barcelona are said to have a list so I’d advise that they keep on working down it and move away from Arsenal players.

There has been a pretty strong line coming out of Arsenal this summer than no key players will be leaving. After summers in which we have watched Barcelona and Manchester United pick off our best players, a stand needs to be made and I fancy this summer will be the one where we see it.

Barcelona’s insistence on signing an Arsenal player every time the transfer window opens is bordering on the pathological now, they really should seek therapy.

Koscileny is contracted to Arsenal until 2017 so contact does not equal sale. It can sometimes, however, be enough to unsettle a player and personally, I’m long past sick of Barcelona unsettling our players.

The first five Arsenal fixtures are:

Villa [h] 17/08

Fulham [a] 24/08

Tottenham [h] 31/08

Sunderland [a] 14/09

Stoke [h] 21/09

Arsenal play Tottenham at White Hart Lane on 15th March 2014.

Last season Arsenal started with a home match against Sunderland before traveling to Stoke and Liverpool.

According to PremierLeague.com the top opening day scorers are:

8 – Alan Shearer
7 – Teddy Sheringham, Frank Lampard
6 – Louis Saha, Didier Drogba
5 – Dennis Bergkamp, Kevin Campbell, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Les Ferdinand, Darren Bent, Wayne Rooney.

The highest scoring opening day fixtures are:

20 August 1994: Crystal Palace 1-6 Liverpool
20 August 1994: Sheff Wed 3-4 Tottenham
19 August 1995: Southampton 3-4 Nott’m Forest
15 August 2009: Everton 1-6 Arsenal

For copyright reasons we cannot reproduce the full Premier League fixture list, but you can view it on the Premier League official site.

The bid is said to be €12.5m for both Payet and Florian Thauvin.

L’Equipe report that Arsenal are still interested in the player however any transfer would be subject to the departure of Gervinho and that doesn’t seem very likely.

The Payet to Arsenal link popped up in the UK press a few days ago with the Daily Mail leading the way however there didn’t seem to be any concrete information offered to back up the claims that Wenger was interested in the winger who scored 12 times for Lille last season.

Gervinho has already stated that he wishes to remain at Arsenal and fight to win back his starting spot so it would seem like this is yet another rumour that will come to nothing.

Of course, we could always be wrong.

Cazorla said

“I admire Iniesta because I see him as a special player, different. But I also think that the whole team is comprised of spectacular players with many options.

“I think we have a very important generational of great players in both the Under-21 and in the sub-20.

“It’s been an incredible year in the Premier [League] because I got my record for goals in this competition.”

Cazorla scored 12 goals in his debut league season in the Premier League. His previous highest goals tally in a league campaign was nine.

Asked who he thought would play in the Confederation Cup final, Santi replied

“I bet for a Spain-Brazil [final].”

He also spoke about how he almost gave up playing football when the pain of his injuries got too much for him.

Speaking to France Football, Sanogo said

“I wanted to stop. I told myself it was useless to go on and to imperil my health.

“I could not run any longer. I had too much pain, the doctors didn’t know what to do. But, one day I went for a jog and step by step I made my way back.”

Now having recovered he has been reassured about his injuries by Arsene Wenger he added

“I told my agent the choice would be made between these two clubs. Lille’s coach Rudi Garcia called me all the time. I hesitated a lot.

“Gilles Grimandi  came to see me from time to time at Auxerre too. One day he called me for a meeting in a Paris hotel and Arsene Wenger was there. I was very impressed.

“Wenger told me I would get opportunities and reassured me about my injury. He told me he had followed me for years. That meeting was very important and today I am an Arsenal player.

“It will be an amazing adventure. I am just eager to start in one of the best leagues in the world. It is a dream that has come true.”

Sanogo passed his Arsenal medical earlier this month.

He will join Arsenal in July.

While there is no doubting the Spurs player’s talent, making him the world’s first £100m player is simply ridiculous.

Speaking to the media, Fabregas said

“For me spending 100million on Gareth Bale is foolish, I don’t know how any club could spend that amount of money in these circumstances.

“He is a great player with all the right attributes, but we will have to see if Madrid sign him and if he can perform there.”

No doubt he was probably asked a very leading question and this was his honest response, one which speaks more to the current financial climate, but let’s not focus on that and focus on how he questions if Bale can perform in Spain instead.

Fabregas has been linked, repeatedly, with a move to Manchester United or a return to Arsenal this summer, but he has, once again, moved to stop the speculation by claiming his future lies with Barcelona.

He said

“People talk a lot but the truth is that no-one has spoken with me. “I want to triumph in Barcelona, that club is my home and I always dreamed of playing there, so I will try and succeed there as long as I can.”

I think this is the third time in about ten days that he has said this or something very similar to this. Still the papers run the ‘rumours.’

And, while we’re here, we might as well watch Cesc scoring from the kick-off against Tottenham.

Enjoy.

Two Arsenal players decided to spend the time getting hitched – not to each other obviously.

Theo Walcott married long-term girlfriend Melanie Slade so that was clearly why he needed his pay-rise – to pay for the knees up judging by the looks of the venue.

The ceremony took place at a castle in Florence and guests included  Laurent Koscielny, Aaron Ramsey, Thomas Vermaelen and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who all arrived via Easyjet.

Seriously.

Castle where Theo got married

The couple asked for donations to the Willow Foundation and MacMillan Cancer Support in lieu of gifts.

There are no photos of the wedding as they sold the rights to a magazine.

Lukasz Fabianski married Anna Grygier in Poland and they didn’t concern themselves with such things as selling the rights to their wedding. Lukas Podolski was said to be among the guests.

He’s got that lovin’ feeling

More images can be viewed here.

I suppose that’s what they pay agents for.

According to a number of reports coming out of Spain, Malaga have joined five other clubs who have all had bids for the Dane accepted by Arsenal.

Eintracht Frankfurt had been believed to be early favourites however they would only be able to take the player on loan, something Arsenal are not keen on as they want to get Bendtner off the books completely.

Malaga are, however, in the financial position to pay Bendtner the stupid money he no doubt got used to at Arsenal.

It still remains to see where his ego takes him and we should only have to wait around another seven days as a week ago he claimed his future would be sorted out in a fortnight.

Back at the end of May, Garcia himself admitted than a move to Arsenal would be great, saying

Spain has very nice teams and is very historical, but I like to travel and go outside [the country].

Arsenal would be a very nice club and I think it would be great.

And also commented that

Things are being worked on

In regards to his future.

Now it seems as if Arsenal might have responded to Garcia’s advances by getting in touch with his club after scout Francis Cagigao spent some time watching the player.

It is claimed that after watching him, Arsenal have been impressed and are ready to ‘take him to the next level.’

Ruben Garcia, 19, became Levante’s youngest ever scorer in La Liga and has just completed a remarkable season, not just displaying his talent but also his consistency as well.

A left-sided player, he is an attacking player who is not afraid to do his defensive duties.

There is a €10m buy-out clause in his contract which would put him slap bang in the middle of Arsene’s sweet spot when it comes to transfer fees.

The story, which was yet another one of Wayne ‘Goal.com exclusive’ Veysey’s pieces which was picked up and run by the national press, claimed that Arsenal had submitted a club record bid of £22m for the midfielder.

Not so it seems as today Everton confirmed [via the Liverpool Echo] that no bids have been received for the player.

Earlier this month, new manager Roberto Martinez said about Fellaini

“I don’t think it’s an issue at all with Marouane.

“You are not talking about a player who is out of the squad or in negotiations with another club. I won’t look to speak to him about this because there is nothing to speak about.

“Transfer speculation is unstoppable when you have been as successful as Everton.

“You will always get other teams who admire and want to take your best players.

“That’s normal and happens everywhere.

“It happens at Real Madrid, at Manchester United and Everton. So there’s nothing we have to speak about.

“What I want is him to be ready for the next season, be ready to take an important role at the football club, and understand that it is a big season for him – for the club – and to get into the Belgium team to try to win the World Cup.

“I really don’t believe Marouane is thinking, ‘am I going to be here?’ I don’t think that is in his head.”

Veysey certainly has a knack of continually writing pieces which never seem to have any truth in them but which the media seem happy enough to base their reports on. Quite a talent to be consistently wrong and still treated as someone who provides information worth repeating in a national paper.

Speaking on Radio Grenal, Santos said

“My loan deal is over. It was six months long and now I am returning. Gremio had an agreement with Arsenal and I have to return.

“I wanted to stay. Gremio were fair regarding everything. I felt well there and I wanted to win a title before leaving.

“Unfortunately there is no deal and I had to return to Arsenal.”

It would seem highly unlikely that Santos has a future at Arsenal. He was pretty unceremoniously shipped off and replaced by Nacho Monreal who seems like an altogether far superior option.

His standing with fans is also very low after chasing after Judas van Persie at halftime to get the Dutchman’s shirt and that, tied to his performances which have been ‘erratic’ [I’m trying to be kind], it would seem like his Arsenal days are already over.

Whether Arsenal are able to find a permanent home for the player or will have to ship him out on loan again remains to be seen.

Already sponsored by Nike, Yan Dhanda was first spotted when he won the Under-11’s category of the Asian Soccer Star competition which was held at Chelsea in 2010, a competition aiming to increase the number of ethnic minority players in the game.

Arsenal are hopeful that their track record of developing young players can help convince the player to move to London while Liverpool are hoping to trade on the fact that Jerome Sinclair, who also moved from West Brom, became the club’s youngest first team player when he was just 16 years and six days old and it is thought that the player is leaning towards Liverpool according to someone close to West Brom.

Watch Yan Dhanda in action below:

Sanogo said

‘I was impressed. He [Wenger] told me I’d get my chance, reassured me over injury and said he had been watching me for several years’

The decision to sign for Arsenal was made after a meeting with Arsene Wenger in Paris and speaking to Arsenal’s current French players, Bacary Sagna, Francis Coquelin and Abou Diaby.

What Diaby had to say would surely have swayed things given the injuries the midfielder has suffered since arriving at the club and being on the receiving end of an horrendous tackle by Dan Smith just a few months after his debut.

Sanogo has struggled with a knee injury and at one point considered giving up football, telling his mum that he wanted to go and work in the post office.

Back at the start of June, Sanogo had also said

“I longed to go to a big club. If I had not been injured at 18, I might already be gone. I always wanted to play in England. And so, at 20 years of age, I do not know if this train will come again.

“Some, it is true, have been burned going there. But many have succeeded. I lost a lot of time and I hope to catch up in coming the years.”

The defensive midfielder, who is 23, is rated at £10m and received stellar reports after a fantastic season.

The Mail, however, do not hint at how they know that Arsenal are in for the player although it is expected that the North London club will move for a player in that position.

Illarramendi came through Sociedad’s youth academy and made the breakthrough in to the senior team in 2010.

He was a Fifa u-17 World Cup runner-up with Spain in 2007.

There is absolutely no way of knowing if there is any truth in this rumour or if it is just another name the Mail have pulled out of their transfer hat.

He has been called the ‘new Xabi Alonso’ because to simply be ‘Asier Illarramendi’ would be dull.

Why? Well, who the hell knows.

The caption which accompanied the shot merely said

And here’s the photo you’ve all rushed here to see…

He still hasn’t decided on which of the five clubs who want him he will join.

Better things to be doing with his time, clearly.