FA PREMIER LEAGUE:EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR is to sign a new contract with Arsenal, ending speculation that he would follow in the footsteps of Alexander Hleb, Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva and leave the Emirates Stadium this summer. The 24-year-old striker has given out mixed messages about his future during the past couple of months, with Milan and Barcelona both courting the Togolese, but last night it emerged he has agreed an improved four-year deal with Arsenal that will tie him to the club until 2012.
The news will come as a major relief to Wenger following a turbulent summer at Arsenal. The Frenchman admitted yesterday he had become increasingly frustrated with the manner in which a number of the continent's leading clubs have pursued Arsenal players. Wenger did not name the clubs whom he claimed had "destabilised" Arsenal at the end of last season but it is fair to assume that Milan, Barcelona and Internazionale were all uppermost in his mind. "I felt this year we were destabilised by some clubs who did not completely respect the fair play rules in tapping up players," said Wenger ahead of this weekend's Emirates Cup tournament involving Hamburg, Real Madrid and Juventus.
"I feel we suffered from that at the end of the season. There is a game going on in Europe where the big clubs tap up our players. They think they can just come in and take them. They offer the players big wages and after they cannot come up with the transfer request. They should do it the other way around."
There appears little doubt Adebayor was unsettled by those tactics, although the striker insisted yesterday his "heart is with Arsenal" and that he had no intention of moving on. "I have never said I will leave the club," said Adebayor, who has secured a significant pay rise on his previous contract, which was worth around €44,428 a week. "When we started talking about my contract I never told [Wenger] I'd be leaving this club and he knew my desire."
Hleb, Flamini and Gilberto had other ideas, leaving Arsenal bereft of experience if not talent in central midfield ahead of the new campaign. Wenger has recognised the void and admitted he is targeting one more signing, with his description of the type of player he has in mind suggesting that Gareth Barry could be on his radar.
"If we can do one more signing we will but it will need to buy the requested quality," explained the Arsenal manager, who confirmed William Gallas will continue as captain. "It's not just to buy, it's getting the right person and that is, at the moment, very difficult. It's not a real problem because we have enough young players who can step in. We've lost experience and if we can get a midfielder with experience who can play a tactical role we will do it. If not we will give this position to somebody else."
David Bentley, who scored on his Tottenham debut in a 2-0 win over Celtic last night, would not have fit that exact criteria but it would be understandable if Wenger now wondered whether he had made the right decision in allowing the England international to leave. "I have no regrets," insisted the Arsenal manager. "When you have many young players you can't keep them all. (Bentley) wanted to play more central, in the Dennis Bergkamp role, but I felt he wasn't ready. He would be ready today."
As will Arsenal come the start of the season, according to the Arsenal manager. "I'm very confident we have a squad to compete at the top level in the Premiership. The speculation before the season starts is always against us but we have enough strength to deal with that. Last year we lost the championship by four points and we feel we have been very, very, very unlucky."
