Cazorla set to undergo medical at emirate for a fee around £18m deal

Malaga have confirmed midfielder Santi Cazorla has not attended training today amid reports he’s on his way to London to undergo a medical with Arsenal.

With Robin van Persie poised to leave, the capture of Cazorla, 27, is the major signing of the summer that Arsene Wenger has been promising. 

Wenger was beaten to the signature of the Spain midfielder last year by Malaga, who had been seemingly enriched by their purchase by Qatari Sheik Abdullah Bin Nasser Al-Thani. 

But the club now have to clear huge debts by the end of the month or face relegation to Spain's second tier, the loss of their UEFA licence and Champions League expulsion.

Adding Cazorla to the signings of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud represents the most significant summer strengthening since Arsenal imposed financial constraints on transfers in 2004.

Former Arsenal Player Martin Keown praise Podolski's level of experience

Martin Keown believes Arsène Wenger has got it right this summer with the signings of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud.

The duo will join their new team-mates this week after the conclusion of the Club’s pre-season tour of Asia.

Keown played 449 times for Arsenal in two spells between 1981 and 2004 and insists the experience of Podolski in particular will prove invaluable as the Gunners look to build on last season’s third-place finish.

“Podolski has come in with an undisputable amount of experience,” Keown told Arsenal.com at the launch of The Arsenal Brent Cross. “He had a quiet Euros playing in a wide position, so it will be interesting to see where the manager will play him.

“But he is an outstanding player and that is the level of experience we need.

“We have seen Giroud in flashes and it looks like he has got great qualities too. If Wenger is taking him you can be sure he is going to be a top player. So there are lots of plusses.”

Arsenal chairman Hill-Wood wondering why Van Persie wants to move

The Dutch striker is continuing to try and force a move away from the Emirates Stadium, with Manchester City, Manchester United and Juventus all vying for his attention

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has confessed he is baffled as to why Robin van Persie would want to leave the club.

The 28-year-old striker finished as top scorer in the Premier League last season and confirmed his intention to part ways with the Gunners earlier in July, which has started a transfer pursuit between Manchester City, Manchester United and Juventus.

However, the Emirates Stadium chairman insisted that Van Persie will not be sold on the cheap.

“He is a world-class player and we don’t want to give him away,” Hill-Wood told the Daily Star.

“If he is determined to leave that is up to him, but giving him away is not on our agenda.

“To be honest I do not understand him at all. I understood Cesc Fabregas wanting to go home to Barcelona last summer. I had sympathy with that.

“But I thought Robin was happy at Arsenal, especially after the season he had with us.”

Van Persie has been part of the Gunners' squad since 2004 and was given the captain’s armband on a permanent basis after Fabregas left last summer.

Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud have already been brought in to the club recently, while Santi Cazorla is a reported £16 million target for the Gunners.

OFFICIAL: Chelsea FC announce the signing of Oscar

Chelsea have completed the signing of Internacional midfielder Oscar.

The Blues confirmed the deal on their official website on Wednesday having verbally agreed the transfer, according to the Brazilian club's president, Giovanni Luigi, earlier in the week.

No details have been released regarding the player's transfer fee or contract, but reports had claimed that the playmaker would cost around £25 million.

Oscar is currently representing Brazil at the Olympic Games and played in the Selecao's pre-tournament warm-up friendly against Great Britain.

Thorgan Hazard Unite brother Eden Hazard at Chelsea

Chelsea have signed Lens teenage midfielder Thorgan Hazard who joins his older brother Eden at the European champions, the Premier League club said on Tuesday.

He joined Lens aged 14 and moved up to the senior squad last season, making 14 Ligue 1 appearances including his debut as a substitute in the first match of the campaign.

Thorgan has played for Belgium at several age groups and was part of the squad for the 2011 European Under-19 Championship.

He will join Chelsea's Under-21 squad for pre-season training with a loan move being considered so he can continue his development,according to the club's official website.

The Hazards, whose parents were footballers, were both at Belgian team Tubize and could join a long list of brothers to play for Chelsea including Ray and Graham Wilkins, Ron and Allan Harris, John and Peter Sillett and Chris and William Ferguson.

Thierry Henry Arsenal Future Coach?

New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry is not ruling out the possibility of sealing another return to Arsenal.

Henry, 34, spent time training with Arsenal during the off season of the MLS last winter before agreeing a short-term loan agreement in January with the club he left for Barcelona.

The Frenchman scored twice during his loan spell, his first of those strikes on his comeback match in the FA Cup against Leeds, and he has admitted he sees his future back at Emirates Stadium.

Henry said in the Sun: "I would like to go back to England with Arsenal for sure.

"I wasn't planning to go back to play last season. It was only because Gervinho and Chamakh went to the African Nations Cup.

"I was there to train and they asked me if I wanted to play. Who knows what might happen in the future? I've not yet spoken to Arsene about it so I don't know what capacity I could go back in.

"Coaching does interest me but I don't know what my talent is going to be after I have finished my career. But I will go back to Arsenal."

Cazorla Set to Sign for Arsenal

Arsenal are edging close to signing of malaga midfielder Santi Cazorla after he agreed terms with the club.

The versatile spain player looks set to complete a move to north London in the coming weeks, a year after first being pursued by Arsene Wenger.

The Gunners have tabled a bid of around £15.6million for one of La Liga's brightest talents and hope that any deal can be concluded swiftly considering the player's desire to move.

Cazorla joined Malaga last summer from Villarreal and the financial situation of the club is so bad that can lead them to relegate with a hefty tax bill owing the spanish government and number of unfulfilled obligations on transfer repayment.

Cazorla, who scored four freekicks last season, played in almost every position across the midfield and attack, and would be the third addition to the forward ranks this summer, after Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud.