You heard it here on [ms] first.
After the annual will he or won't he pantomine with Stevie Gerrard follows the even longer running summer transfer saga of Patrick Viera:
Taken from The Times:
[i]Another summer soap opera took an unexpected twist yesterday. Patrick Vieira, who every year comes within a whisker of leaving Arsenal, could finally be on his way after it emerged that the London club had entered negotiations about selling their long-serving captain to Juventus.
Arsenal supporters will reassure themselves that they have heard it before about Vieira, who has delighted them by turning down Real at the last moment in each of the past two summers, but this time it seems that a parting of the ways may be the preferred option for all concerned. Arsenal are believed to have entertained a delegation from Juventus on Wednesday night.
Juventus believe that Arsenal are seeking close to ?18 million to secure the 29-year-old?s services. The Italian club are keen to signal to their supporters that they are in the market for top players but are not believed to have that sum available in cash, unless they can sell some of their players, such as Emerson and David Trezeguet.
They are offering Arsenal cash plus players, including Stephen Appiah, the Ghana midfield player, who is the subject of strong interest from Middlesbrough. That bid holds no appeal for Arsenal, who are demanding a significantly higher cash sum.
If a makeweight were required, their preference would be for Jonathan Zebina, the France defender, rather than Appiah. Ars?ne Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has identified Mahamadou Diarra, of Lyons, as the most suitable replacement if Vieira is sold.
Even if negotiations go no farther, it is clear that, having entertained and haggled with Roberto Bettega and Luciano Moggi, respectively vice-president and director-general of the Italian club, Arsenal will consider selling Vieira. The captain was not at his most influential last season and may be sold as Wenger seeks to reshape his team with younger midfield players such as Francesc F?bregas and Mathieu Flamini.
A new centre forward is also a requirement, with the club confident of signing J?lio Baptista, the prolific Brazil striker, from Seville, as his hopes of joining Real appear to be ill-founded.
Vieira?s thoughts on a possible move to Italy are unclear, given that he has previously said he would not return to Serie A after encountering racism during an unhappy spell with AC Milan at the start of his career. It is hard to understand why he would be prepared to go to Juventus when he rejected Real.[/i]