Peter's perfect: Wenger wings it with £4m bid for West Brom striker Odemwingie
By Sami Mokbel
Last updated at 8:11 AM on 3rd June 2011
Arsenal are weighing up a shock cut-price £4million move for West Bromwich striker Peter Odemwingie.
Arsene Wenger wants to bolster his attacking options to take the goalscoring burden off Robin van Persie - who yesterday renewed his attack on Chelsea players for what he views as their attempts to intimidate officials.
Odemwingie caught Wenger’s eye during both Premier League clashes against the Baggies last season, which saw the Midlands club take four points - including a 3-2 win at the Emirates.
Odemwingie only has a year left on his current Baggies deal, though manager Roy Hodgson is desperate for the striker to commit to a long-term contract. But the lure of Champions League football could be too much for Odemwingie to resist.
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, Lille’s Gervinho and Porto’s Radamel Falcao are also in Wenger’s thoughts, but a move for Odemwingie would be more cost-effective, freeing up funds to strengthen other areas.
Wenger will step up plans to reshape his squad by going on a scouting mission to South America this month. He will watch a number of international friendlies leading up to the Copa America, which kicks off on July 1.
Arsenal are already on the trail of left-footed Argentine midfielder Ricardo Alvarez, who plays for Velez Sarsfield and Wenger’s chief scout Steve Rowley has been dispatched on a spying assignment to South America.
Meanwhile, Van Persie has blasted Chelsea and Spain players for what he perceives as their constant complaining to referees.
The Holland international said in March: ‘Barcelona’s players have the habit of whinging about everything. In England, Chelsea’s players behave in the same way.’
And he told Dutch TV: ‘They [Spain players] always go up to referees in an attempt to get an opponent booked. They are trying to screw colleagues.
‘That kind of behaviour really annoys me. If you want to witness a lot of complaints, you should just go the bakery or something. There’s always people nagging there as well.
‘Chelsea players are always bitching against the referees. Just shut the f*** up and focus on playing football.’
Van Persie’s team-mate Alex Song is considering his international future after being booted out of Cameroon’s squad to face Senegal over a bust-up with skipper Samuel Eto’o.
The midfielder had only just returned to the international fold after a series of snubs in the aftermath of Cameroon’s disappointing World Cup 2010 campaign.
He has a fractious relationship with Eto’o and their feud came to a head this week when Song refused to shake the Inter Milan striker’s hand. The pair then had a row when Song sat in a chair Eto’o claimed was reserved for him during a meal, which led to Cameroon manager Javier Clemente expelling the Arsenal player to avoid further disruption.
The Cameroon Football Federation later claimed the Arsenal man had left the camp due to injury.
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