Newslines: Wenger wants answer on Wiltord

Arsene Wenger has told Bordeaux he wants an answer today over whether his £8 million offer for the striker Sylvain Wiltord will be accepted.

Bordeaux have priced the French international, who has repeatedly said that he wishes to leave the club, at £13 million, but Arsenal are refusing to raise their initial offer. Bordeaux will have to pay Wiltord's previous club, Deportivo La Coruna, 40 per cent of any fee.

Wenger is desperate to bolster his squad before the deadline for eligibility to play in the first phase of the Champions League a week tomorrow. He has no suitable cover for his first-choice striker Thierry Henry and is yet to fill the void created by the sale of Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit to Barcelona for a combined £30 million. While he has been given the first option to buy Wiltord by Bordeaux's president, the French side hope to hang on to their player until January, when the level of the sell-on clause in Wiltord's contract is reduced.

"There is a difference of opinion between us and Bordeaux over what Wiltord is worth. We are still a few million pounds apart," said Wenger. "It is true that I am interested in signing him. We have made our offer, quite a good amount of money which we think is the right one and which has not gone up in the past few days. We are waiting now for an announcement from Bordeaux."