Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger calls for review of tapping up rules

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has called for a review of the rules regarding the tapping up players, in light of Samir Nasri's situation at the north London club.

The Frenchman has only a year left on his current contract, and has been heavily linked with a move away from the club with Manchester City having already confirmed their interest.

Recent reports pointed towards the midfielder being unwilling to sign a new contract with the Gunners, with some suggestions that he is ready to play out the final year of his deal and leave on a free transfer.

When asked if other clubs had tapped-up his players, Wenger said: "I would like to return the question to you.

"What do you think? We live in a realistic world. I do not want to assess what I cannot prove.

"I know how things happen. It doesn't necessarily go through the player or the agent but I think it is a rule that has to be reviewed. It's not really respected."

As well as Nasri, skipper Cesc Fabregas has been linked with a move, with Barcelona having claimed that the Gunners are willing to negotiate a deal for the Spaniard.

Wenger also refrained from going into the exact number of players who he hopes will arrive during the summer.

"It's not the number, it's the quality," said Wenger.

But of those who will leave the club, he added: "How many will leave the club? I said from the start I will fight to keep everybody. Nicklas Bendtner might go and Emmanuel Eboue might go. They can talk to clubs, but the rest I will fight."

The Frenchman has strengthened his squad this summer by bringing in Gervinho from Lille, for a fee believed to be in the region of £10 million.

The 24-year-old opened his account for the Gunners in a pre-season friendly against Koln on Saturday, netting twice during the game as his side ran out 2-1 winners against the German club.

"If you went six weeks without a goal for a striker you raise questions," Wenger said. "But now it's out of the way. You could see how quick he is to get behind defenders. He has qualities that are always very interesting for a team like us."

The boss also hopes that the reported £10m fee will prove to be a bargain for the Ivory Coast international, who joins at a time when other clubs have been spending the kind of money that makes the Frenchman "dizzy".

"I hope [he’ll be a bargain]," Wenger said. "When you see all the fees around you become dizzy. We do what we want and we look first at the quality of the player and after if we have the money we spend it. In this case he wanted to join us. He had only one year on his contract so it was a good opportunity for us."