Wenger sticks to guns over Pires contract

SOCCER: Arsene Wenger has told Robert Pires not to expect Arsenal to offer the improved contract with which he is looking to pledge his future to the club.

Pires has only been offered a one-year extension to his present agreement, which runs out next summer, but has asked for at least an extra two years to take him to 2008.

There have been suggestions that the France winger might be handed such a deal with Patrick Vieira having moved to Juventus, a departure which will leave a hole in the Arsenal midfield but drastically cut their wage bill.

Pires is one of the players that Wenger could use as a replacement for Vieira in central midfield but the manager said the club's position had not changed since Vieira's £13.7 million transfer.

A handful of clubs, including Juventus and Galatasaray, are interested in signing Pires but he does not want to go to Turkey and so far Juventus have not been willing to meet Arsenal's £3 million asking price for the 31-year-old.

It is possible Real Madrid could yet turn to Pires in their search for a left-sided midfielder, but Wenger said he wants his compatriot to stay and insisted that there were no offers on the table for the former Marseille player.

"We have an agreement with Robert and at the moment it is all quite stable," he said.

"We have no interest in him from anybody and we want him to stay.

"I can understand that he wants an improved contract, but it has nothing to do with Patrick leaving.

"Robert has always been very important to us, but he does not play in the same position as Patrick - although he can.

"My situation is very clear - I want him to stay. But I cannot stop there being interest from other clubs or speculation in the newspapers."

If the situation does not change before January, Pires would be free to begin negotiations with non-English clubs about a free transfer when his contract expires next summer.

Wenger, meanwhile, has not given up hope of signing Julio Baptista even though the Brazilian said this week that he intends to stay in Spain for another season.

Arsenal remain convinced that they can agree a fee with Sevilla for the 23-year-old who can play in midfield or as a forward.

Baptista has said that he wants to remain in Spain for one more year in order to qualify for a Spanish passport, and his preference would then be to join Barcelona or Real Madrid. As neither club has room for another non-EU national at present Arsenal still hope to lure him to Highbury with an improved wage offer.

"It has not completely fallen down, there is still a 50-50 chance he will come to Arsenal," said Wenger. "I am not really frustrated that it keeps dragging on.

"We have the players we want and if we can add someone we will do it, but if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen. The sticking point at the moment is secret, if you can keep something secret in football.

"It's all down to Baptista," Wenger added, discounting Tottenham's reported bid for the player. "He might stay in Spain with Sevilla or go to another club in that country, but I don't think there is another English club interested."

Deportivo La Coruna have been alerted to Milan Baros's availability at Liverpool and may consider bidding for the Czech international.

The Spanish club's president Augusto Cesar Lendoiro has been contacted by Baros's agent, Pavel Paska.

Baros, who helped to win the European Cup, was omitted from Liverpool's Champions League qualifier against Total Network Solutions on Tuesday to avoid him being cup-tied in European competition.

West Ham have declared their interest in the 23-year-old striker, though he is likely to move to a club competing in Europe.

Baros scored 14 goals last season, though only two after mid-December. Rafael Benitez is keen to raise funds to strengthen his defensive ranks. After the arrival of Peter Crouch from Southampton for £7 million, Baros is fourth choice.

"Of course it is not pleasant but I am still a Liverpool player, I am working hard and I am trying to persuade the coach that I deserve my place in the team," said the Czech.

"We will sit with the coach and talk about his intentions with me. If he says he does not need me then we will start solving the problem but I am not letting it play on my mind."

Liverpool may exchange Baros for the Deportivo centre-half Jorge Andrade, having grown frustrated in their pursuit of Zaragoza's Gabriel Milito. Real rejected Liverpool's £7.5 million bid for the Argentinian last week. The Sevilla defender Daniel Alves is also a possibility.

"We probably still need to strengthen certain positions in the squad and that is something we are working on at the moment," said Benitez. "We knew we needed to improve the quality of the squad and that is what we have done. We needed to strengthen different positions and we're happy with the (six) players we have managed to bring in."

Deportivo are likely to play Newcastle in the semi-finals of the Intertoto Cup as they attempt to gain entry to the Uefa Cup. Their strikers, Walter Pandiani and Albert Luque, are expected to leave before the new season.

Birmingham City retain hopes of signing Pandiani, who was on loan at St Andrew's last season, but they face competition from Real Zaragoza and Hertha Berlin. Luque has been targeted by Real Madrid and has been omitted from the Deportivo squad to play Slaven Belupo in the Intertoto Cup tomorrow.