Source: Daily_Mail
Arsene Wenger in £10m raid for Bolton's England star Gary Cahill
Arsene Wenger is ready to make a £10million bid for Boltoncentre-half Gary Cahill in January as he tries to shore up Arsenal'sleaky defence and prevent their title challenge from fading away in thenew year. [LNB] The Gunners went top of the Premier League for two hours yesterdayafter winning 4-2 at Aston Villa, only to be knocked off by ManchesterUnited's 7-1 demolition of Blackburn.[LNB] Gunners target: Bolton's Gary Cahill (left) in action against Blackpool yesterday[LNB] Wenger, though, is desperately short of experienced central defenders and the long-term injury to Belgian Thomas Vermaelen has exacerbated their problems. [LNB]Cahill, 24, is now their No 1 target after his superb form this season has helped Bolton into the top five, a place cemented by their 2-2 draw at home to Blackpool. [LNB]Arsenal are likely to to start the bidding at £10m though Bolton, whose debts have risen to £93m, will initially demand as much as £18m for a centre-half who made his England debut in September against Bulgaria. [LNB]Wenger tried to sign Everton's Phil Jagielka last summer and is believed to have bid £10m but the player has since signed a new contract at Goodison. [LNB]Cahill, however, has thrived under manager Owen Coyle, whose insistence on passing football has demonstrated the player's ability to bring the ball out of defence as well as defend in a robust manner. [LNB] All those attributes have commended him to Wenger as the best option to make an immediate improvement to his team. [LNB] Arsenal have been unable to fill the gap created by Vermaelen's Achilles injury, with Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci, who both arrived in the summer, struggling to settle in.[LNB] Aston Villa 2 Arsenal 4: Gunners back to winning ways despite late onslaughtBolton 2 Blackpool 2: Davies snatches a point as Wanderers dig deepARSENAL FC: All the latest news from across the webBOLTON WANDERERS FC: All the latest news from across the web[LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People: Phil Jagielka, Gary Cahill, Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny, Owen Coyle Places: United Kingdom, Bulgaria
