Arsenal have failed in a last-ditch attempt to sign Ajax goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, according to talkSPORT.
The Holland international keeper is set for a move to Serie A with AS Roma this summer but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is an admirer of the 28-year-old and tried to hijack the £7 million deal.
However, Stekelenburg rejected Arsenal’s advances and is now set to sign on the dotted line for AS Roma who are in need of a goalkeeper with the likely depature of Doni to Liverpool.
Arsene Wenger is still pondering whether he wants youngster Wojciech Szcz?sny as his number one stopper next season.
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Written by Matthew Wood
So where the hell was Wenger when all this was happening ? Too late to get his purse out again.
The big goalie is a huge miss and $7m ,if the price is right, is a steal. He is a proven performer not like the kid ManU just bought for $20m?
No question the current chaos at Arsenal was a big part of his decision making process. Who wants to walk into a team teetering on the edge of a downward spiral with so many of the key players uncertain about their future.
Combine this with Arsenes lack of urgency to address any obvious transfer needs and “another potential Arsenal Star” goes somewhere else.
So sad….
Quick wenger, bid five more quid!
In The Netherlands, Stekelenburg claims he didn’t get “any serious offers so far” and that AS Roma haven’t contacted him at all… So he’s denying the move so far… Not sure whether that counts for anything. He has apparently said though that he’s no looking forward to compete for first goalie under Wenger – which I can sort of understand. Still, I would prefer he’d join Arsenal rather than Roma and that’s coming from an Ajax AND Arsenal fan.