LONDON, England, February 13- According to reports, AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli’s agent has been in discussions with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger about bringing the former Manchester City man back to English football.
It is believed that the Italian international will command a transfer fee of £25million, a price that may have cooled Arsenal’s interested if it was not for the fact that new sponsor Puma are believed to be open to part-funding the deal.
It has been speculated that Balotelli’s desire to play Champions League football is the motivation behind the move, as Milan’s dismal form in the Serie A this season means they are unlikely to qualify for the competition.
Arsenal are in need of reinforcements up front, with the London outfit currently relying heavily on just Olivier Giroud for goals.
Meanwhile, Olivier Giroud believes Arsenal could not have asked for a better response to their Anfield hammering that their goalless draw with Manchester United on Wednesday.
The Gunners fell to a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Liverpool at the weekend and would have been keen to bounce back quickly when they welcomed a struggling United to the Emirates.
However, despite Arsenal piling on the pressure towards the end of the game, the two sides cancelled each other out and played to a 0-0 draw in blustery north London.
While the France international admits he was disappointed not to have won, he feels it was the perfect response to their weekend Saturday.
“I think we had a good reaction after the bad result against Liverpool,” Giroud told Arsenal Player.
“I think it’s a good draw to be honest even if we could have scored at the end. It was maybe just about our confidence.
“We did well in the first half especially but after we looked a bit tired. It’s OK, we had a good reaction on the pitch and I think that’s the most important thing even if we wanted to win this game.”
The Gunners next host Liverpool at the Emirates in the FA Cup as they look to exact some revenge and Giroud is keen to do just that.
“I’m confident for the remaining games and we’ll know a bit more about our future after Liverpool and Bayern [Munich] because we want to play in every competition,” he added.
-TEAMtalk Media