Daniele De Rossi rules out Arsenal move

01 August 2009 13:56
Manager Arsene Wenger was rumoured to be interested in signing the 26-year-old, but De Rossi claims he has had no contact from Arsenal and has no intention of leaving his home town club. "Arsenal? I haven't heard anything. Roma said I'm untransferable and I want to stay here," he said. "If they wanted to sell me everything would change but they've always shown faith in me. "I was on holiday, I read certain figures and even I didn't know if it could be true, I told myself 'maybe this time they will really sell me'. "But the club always came out and declared that I was not for sale and that really pleased me. It's the only thing I want." Alberto Aquilani has also been linked with a move to the Premier League, with reports suggesting Liverpool are close to signing the midfielder. De Rossi believes it would be a good move for his team-mate but believes the Giallorossi would regret it. "I don't know the details and I don't know if the deal is real," he added. "If it's as it's written in the papers, we will lose a great player. "His many injuries have maybe meant that he's been forgotten about a bit, but I am sure that if he leaves we will regret it. "He's a footballer with exceptional skill and above all he grew up in Roma's academy and has a love for this shirt that you cannot buy. "But if you think about his career I think it would be a good opportunity, he would grow a lot by being close to the best midfielder in the world - Steven Gerrard." De Rossi is looking forward to an improved showing from his team in the Serie A title race this season after they finished a disappointing sixth in 2008-09. That followed three successive seasons as runners-up, but Roma looked to have lost ground on the top three in the last campaign. "We have to do very well because a gap has opened up between us and the top three," he said. "Right now we're fighting with Fiorentina, Genoa and Lazio. We have to rediscover a certain mentality and work culture that we lost last year, me more than anyone else."

Source: Telegraph