NEWS ROUND-UP:THIERRY HENRY has called on Arsenal to keep Cesc Fabregas at all costs. The club have been in the habit of cashing in on valuable assets in recent seasons, but Henry said any bids from Spain for the midfielder should be rebuffed.
“It is vital,” he said. “He’s the Arsenal captain, he’s young, and I am sure he wants to give something back to the club. Knowing Cesc, that’s really important.”
Fabregas has been heavily linked with his former club Barcelona who Henry helped win a domestic double and the Champions League last season. The former Arsenal captain feels now is not the time for Fabregas to move to Camp Nou.
Henry also believes his old club should keep setting their sights high and not settle for a place in the Premier League’s top four.
“My feeling for Arsenal is that I don’t talk about being in the top four, I talk about winning the league,” he said.
“That’s how I saw it when I was there, and that is still how I see it. Arsenal is a big club. Other clubs do what they do, but Arsene (Wenger) has proven, and Arsenal have proved so many times, that they can win without spending a lot of money. So hopefully they can do it again.”
Arsenal and Manchester United both expect to be fined around €6,000 by Uefa today for “improper conduct of their supporters” during the Champions League semi-final second leg at the Emirates Stadium in May.
Arsenal will be punished after a supporter struck Nemanja Vidic with a plastic drinks bottle while Manchester United are also set to be sanctioned after one of their fans threw a smoke bomb on to the pitch during their 3-1 victory.
United chief executive David Gill has pledged that none of the €93 million received from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo will go towards tackling the club’s spiralling debt.
As interest continues to mount on loans taken out by the Glazer family to purchase the club four years ago, it is estimated that United are now more than €710 million in the red.
Under the circumstances, it must be tempting to use some of the world record windfall paid by Madrid to lure Ronaldo to the Bernabeu to pay a percentage off, especially as Alex Ferguson does not feel there is sufficient value in the transfer market at present.
However Gill has left no doubt that Ferguson has all the Ronaldo cash at his disposal should he want it. “No. It does not have to go against the debt,” Gill said. “You cannot be more clear than that. We did not budget for it and it is there to be used.”
Steve Bruce is hoping to make a breakthrough in the transfer market as Sunderland close in on Tottenham’s Darren Bent and Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh.
Celtic last night agreed terms with Coventry City for left back Daniel Fox (23).
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