THE ESSENTIAL

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has reiterated his admiration for Juventus midfielder Felipe Melo and admitted he is still tracking the Brazilian.

Holland coach Bert van Marwijk claims Robin van Persie could be back in action at the start of April after the Arsenal forward's ankle injury.

Arsene Wenger is adamant that Arsenal can still win the title. The Gunners are six points behind leaders Chelsea after their 1-0 win over Liverpool and Wenger said: "Everybody drops points everywhere so let's see what happens. The most consistent side will win it. We will fight until the last second of the season."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger maintains no deal has yet been done to sign Marouane Chamakh on a free transfer from Bordeaux in the summer.

Nicklas Bendtner hopes he can spur on Arsenal's dwindling title challenge. The Danish striker has been out injured for almost four months but could return to the starting line-up for Sunday's crunch match with Chelsea. He said: "When I get back to full strength, I'll be able to make a major impact. We have different types of striker who can do different things, and I think the team has missed a type like me."

Barcelona vice-president Aldons Godall is confident Cesc Fabregas will eventually return to the Nou Camp. "Sooner or later Cesc will end up coming back," Godall said in The Sun. "We are a club that can sign players because we are respected and solvent."

Arsene Wenger hit out at his team after the match, picking out their naivety and a handful of individual mistakes. "It's difficult to accept but easy to explain: we were poor defensively, offensively and cohesion-wise – we delivered an off-the-mark performance completely," said Wenger. "We were well beaten. We gave them too much room and were naïve. When you are completely off the mark, it's impossible to win the game. There were massive individual errors. I feel we never had any cohesion offensively or defensively."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits he could yet be ready to offer former Gunners captain Sol Campbell a return to the Premier League.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger feels the fear factor plays a big part in football matches being postponed when "there is no real need for it".

Arsene Wenger says he will have no option but to buy a striker this month if Nicklas Bendtner's comeback from a groin problem is delayed again.

TRANSFERS

Who? - Felipe Melo
Where is he? - Juventus
Who is he linked with? - Arsenal
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Who? - Cesc Fabregas
Where is he? - Arsenal
Who is he linked with? - Juventus
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