German club Schalke are keeping a keen eye on Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin and are contemplating a move for him in the summer, according to talkSPORT. The French midfielder has failed to carve a permanent place for himself in the Arsenal squad and is ready to move out of the club for more first team action.

Francis Coquelin
Reuters

The 22-year-old has made one assist in only 11 starts this season, in Arsenal's 6-1 rout of Coventry City in the Capital One Cup. However, the tenure of the transfer is still unclear and no news has emerged if the deal reported is a loan deal or a permanent transfer.

Coquelin's departure is likely to pave way for the procurement of a defensive midfielder in the summer. The Gunners have reportedly opened talks with Lyon midfielder Maxime Gonalons and are also reported to be keeping tabs on Southampton enforcer Morgan Schneiderlin.

Gazidis and Boutros on Emirates Cup

Arsenal will welcome back the Emirates Cup this year after a hiatus last season owing to the London Olympics held during that time. The teams invited this season are Portuguese club FC Porto, Serie A's Napoli and Turkish giants Galatasaray. Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has expressed his excitement at the prospect and believes it will be stage to some high quality football. The Emirates Cup will be held on the 3<sup>rd and 4<sup>th of August.

"We are delighted to be welcoming the Emirates Cup back to north London this summer after last year's break. We are welcoming three high-quality sides to this year's competition again and I'm sure we'll see some great football played over the two days. Emirates has been the proud sponsor of the tournament since the inaugural competition in 2007 and we are very pleased to be working closely with them again on the Emirates Cup 2013," Gazidis told www.arsenal.com.

Emirates' divisional senior vice-president of corporate communications, Boutros M. Boutros added, "The Emirates Cup continues to be a key part of our long-term partnership with Arsenal Football Club and it's great to have the competition return for its sixth iteration this summer. The competition is always a great way for the Arsenal team and fans to prepare for the start of the new season and we're looking forward to supporting this high quality tournament once again."

London