Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger dismissed suggestions that the Gunners
are leading the race to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic this summer, saying "we
are not on that case."
Several British newspapers reported on Friday
that Ibrahimovic's agents have offered the Swedish striker to Arsenal
when his Paris Saint-Germain contract expires after this season, with
several other Premier League clubs also interested.
While
Ibrahimovic would be available on a free transfer, he would demand a
salary that is far above what the Gunners pay their top stars. And at
34, he is above Wenger's normal age limit for new signings.
"At
the moment, no, we are not on that case," Wenger told a news conference
ahead of Saturday's game at Everton. "We have other worries at the
moment. It's short term and we are not on Zlatan's case. Even if at 34
he is having a great season at Paris Saint-Germain."
Arsenal's
failure to sign a world-class striker has long been a source of
frustration with fans. And with Wenger's men set to end the season
without a trophy unless they can close an 11-point gap to Leicester in
the Premier League, the pressure will be even greater on the Frenchman
to spend big in the summer.
But when asked why he wouldn't be
interested in a player of Ibrahimovic's calibre, Wenger said he won't
discuss transfer dealings before this season is over.
"Look, at
the moment you can understand that my priority before the Everton game
is not to go on about the transfer market [and talk about] the possible
signings for next season," he said. "On that front I am just surprised
by the name you throw at me. At the moment, no we are not thinking of
signing anybody."
Arsenal's recent struggles have been largely
linked to a lack of goal scoring, with the likes of Olivier Giroud,
Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott all suffering a dip in form.
After losing in the FA Cup to Watford on Sunday, Arsenal were eliminated from the Champions League
by Barcelona on Wednesday, despite creating plenty of chances at the
Camp Nou. And Wenger said he was convinced that more performances like
the one against Barcelona will result in his strikers rediscovering
their form.
"Let's improve the quality of our game and then our
strikers will benefit from that. It's always very delicate to blame one
or two individuals when you don't score as many goals," Wenger said. "We
have quality strikers and if we reproduce the quality of our game
against Barcelona our strikers will score goals."
ESPN
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