Arsenal Transfer Rumour: Wenger Wants Argentine to Replace Song

Arsenal have reportedly identified Argentina midfielder Lucas Biglia as the replacement for Alex Song, who has agreed personal terms ahead of a £17m shift to Barcelona. Fortunately for Arsene Wenger and the Gunners, it appears Biglia is keen on a move to the Emirates, which could help in negotiations with his present club, Belgian outfit Anderlecht.

"I want to play in a big league and my new club must be playing in the Europa League at least. I want to play in the spotlight of the Argentina national team coach (Alejandro Sabella). The national team is my dream. I would like to leave Anderlecht," talkSport quoted Biglia as saying.

Song's shift to Barcelona is expected to be confirmed soon, and will leave the Gunners short of experience in the centre of the park. Given his squad's poor injury record, Wenger should be keen to reinforce his midfield. The Frenchman has confirmed both that Song will leave and a replacement will be introduced.

Biglia's performances in recent seasons have been impressive enough to interest a host of top European teams. This includes Spanish champions Real Madrid and Italian giants Inter Milan. Meanwhile, Sky Sports claims that Arsenal's pursuit of Madrid's Turkish midfielder Nuri Sahin is in addition to the Song/Biglia tug of war.

The Gunners and Liverpool are both believed to be interested in taking Sahin on loan. The player has been deemed temporarily surplus to requirements at the Santiago Bernabeu. It is understood that Sahin would prefer a move to London over Liverpool.

In other news, Toulouse left-back Cheikh M'Bengue has expressed an interest in joining Arsenal this summer. The Senegal international said a switch to the north London side would be "awesome" and hoped the French club's owner, Olivier Sadran, would not stand in his way if the Gunners were to make an approach.

"I still have two years on my contract and I'm a key player here. I have no clause or agreement to leave - but Arsenal is something you cannot turn down if everyone is okay. I hope he [Sadran] won't block me if an interesting proposal comes up. Arsenal would be awesome," ESPN quoted M'Bengue as saying.

The 24-year-old, who broke into the Toulouse first team in 2007, is confident he can meet the challenges of the Premier League.

"I have played more than 100 Ligue 1 games and I'm a Senegal player. It's a question which doesn't stand," M'Bengue said.