Hot Football Transfer Gossip: Wenger 'will stay at Arsenal and get £200m transfer budget', Liverpool 'target £35m Ox', De Gea 'unsettled at Man Utd'

Hot Football Transfer Gossip: Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Arsene Wenger, Wilfried Zaha

When Arsene Wenger promised he would make an announcement about his Arsenal future “soon”, he wasn’t lying as such. It’s just that he probably imagined he would declare his intention to sign a two-year contract extension in a triumphant manner, perhaps after a resounding Gunners win had propelled his side towards Champions League qualification for the 19th successive year. “Two more years!” he would yell with a grin, as adoring Gunners fan hoisted him aloft and took him on a lap of honour around the Emirates pitch, repeating the mantra, “Two more years! Two more years!”

But instead, Arsenal just keep losing every week. So it’s kind of never been the right moment.

Therefore, “soon” has now become “the end of the season”.

The Times reports that Arsenal are “stalling” over making a public announcement on Wenger’s future due to “a drastic loss of form” and “increased hostility” among the club’s fan base.

He’s still staying though, and the Mirror says he will be trusted with a £200m budget to “fix the squad” in the summer.

It’s quite a big fixing job, with Wenger reportedly set to sign “a keeper, two full-backs, a deep-lying midfielder, two wide-men and a striker”. An entire team, basically, with Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha and Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette among the targets mentioned.

The £200m budget could be bolstered by the sales of contract rebels Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, along with £20m West Ham target Jack Wilshere and in-demand Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The Ox is said, by the Telegraph, to be most wanted by Liverpool, who will not be “scared off” by the midfielder’s £35m price tag. Like Ozil and Sanchez, the 23-year-old is also about to enter the final year of his contract, but no one has ever seemed to care very much.

An alternative twist on the Wenger story appears in the Mail, which suggests the Gunners could appoint a Director of Football to assist the Frenchman next season – and the favourite for the role is ex-Gooner Marc Overmars.

From Wenger’s perspective, you know you’re getting old when a player you signed as a 24-year-old flying winger comes back as a middle-aged “director”.

In non-Arsenal news, the Mirror says Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United all want to sign Monaco’s left-back Benjamin Mendy. The 22-year-old was signed from Marseille for £13m last summer, but would now cost “double” that amount. Obviously.

Man Utd manager Jose Mourinho fears David de Gea has suffered a recent dip in form because has been “distracted” by interest from Real Madrid, says the Star. But if that was true, his form should have been in a constant dip for the past two years.

Elsewhere, a woman has threatened to sue Cesc Fabregas after his daughter kicked a football that hit her baby’s head during a kickabout in a posh London park (Sun), Chelsea and Man City target Pepe is set to be offered a one-year contract extension at Real Madrid (Independent) and Sevilla’s Chilean boss Jorge Sampaoli, who is mates with Alexis Sanchez, says he would like to manage in England (Sun). You keep on dreaming, Arsenal fans.