No deal but Gunners eye duo

ARSENAL last night failed with a second bid to sign Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and were warned by Sevilla that France international Sebastien Squillaci will not come cheap.

The Gunners saw an offer for Schwarzer knocked back by the Cottagers in May and have received short shrift once again in their latest approach.

It is believed that the terms offered by Arsenal were the same as those put on the table earlier in the summer, with a £2 million (€2.4m) bid believed to have been put forward.

Fulham remain reluctant to do business at that price, despite Schwarzer making it clear that he wants to move on.

The Australia international has admitted that the opportunity to move to Emirates Stadium would be too good to turn down and recently put in a transfer request.

The Cottagers accept that the 37-year-old wants to further his career at a club competing in the UEFA Champions League, but insist they will not sell on the cheap.

Centre-back Squillaci did not feature in Wednesday night’s Champions League play-off against Braga in Portugal, with sporting director Ramon Rodriguez confirming the 30-year-old had been asked to be left out so as not to be cup-tied after hearing of an offer from Arsenal.

Sevilla are believed to want around £6.5m (€8m) for the former Lyon centre-back, part of Les Bleus’ ill-fated World Cup squad in South Africa, but it would appear the Gunners have not yet matched that valuation.

Another stumbling block to completing any deal is likely to be the length of contract, with Arsenal usually only offering one-year contracts to senior players, although that was waived when veteran Mikael Silvestre signed from Manchester United in 2008.

Sevilla are understood to have called an emergency board meeting as they discus the offer, which could hinge on whether they can bring in a replacement before the transfer window closes on September 1.

“The player asked not to play because of the offer from such a big team, but, for the moment, we believe the offer is insufficient and Squillaci is still a Sevilla player,” said Rodriguez.

Arsenal are certainly in need of cover in the centre of defence, with Silvestre, William Gallas and Sol Campbell all leaving at the end of their contracts, while Philippe Senderos completed a permanent move to Fulham.

Wenger has already invested in a new defender this summer, signing promising centre-back Laurent Koscielny in a £10m (€12m) deal from Lorient.

The 24-year-old had an eventful Premier League debut against Liverpool at Anfield, being the subject of a late challenge from Joe Cole which earned the new Liverpool midfielder a straight red, before later receiving his marching orders following two yellow cards which rules him out of Saturday’s home game against Blackpool.

Any deal for Squillaci, though, appears unlikely to be pushed through in time for him to play at the weekend. Captain Cesc Fabregas, meanwhile, is expected to feature against Blackpool after the World Cup winner missed the 1-1 draw at Anfield last weekend due to illness.

Should Johan Djourou, who has just recovered from a long-term knee injury, not be fit from a hamstring problem, then full-back Bacary Sagna could be moved across to partner Thomas Vermaelen, although midfielder Alex Song, who has been carrying a calf problem, is another option.

Robin van Persie played the last 15 minutes at Anfield, and could be in contention to start.

Meanwhile, the Gunners were handed a major blow yesterday after it emerged promising midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong will be out for the best part of the season after tearing knee ligaments.

The 18-year-old — born in Ghana, but who moved to London when he was nine — suffered the injury while training with the reserves in Dublin where the squad are taking part in a friendly tournament which also includes Shamrock Rovers and Manchester United’s second string.

The news was confirmed just a day after Arsenal announced winger Samir Nasri would be sidelined for a month following minor surgery on his knee.

Frimpong, who helped Arsenal U18s win the Premier Academy League title last season, had started alongside fellow teenager Jack Wilshere in central midfield for each of Arsenal’s final three pre-season friendlies, against AC Milan, Celtic and Legia Warsaw.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had been set to give the youngster more chances to impress, and admitted it was a big disappointment.

Wenger said: “We have had another blow with Emmanuel Frimpong. He has done his cruciate in training. That is a massive blow.

“A cartilage is three to four weeks, but a cruciate like that one Frimpong did yesterday is six to nine months.

“I rate him highly and I still have a lot of faith in him.”