Arsenal are in talks with Spartak Moscow midfielder Kim Kallstrom after abandoning their pursuit of Julian Draxler, according to the Daily Mail. The Gunners were hoping to sign Draxler but baulked at Schalke's £37 million asking price for the 20-year-old. The London club sent a delegation to Germany to try and thrash out a deal, which is thought to have fallen through after Schalke demanded a large percentage of the fee be paid up front. And with Theo Walcott out for the season, along with Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ransey's absences, Arsene Wenger is keen to add midfield reinforcements before tonight's deadline. Wenger has now switched his attentions to Kallstrom, and hopes that a move can be pushed through before the winter window slams shut at 23:00 GMT this evening. The French manager said:
We are open minded and active, we look at opportunities. We still try to bring at least one player as we were hit by the suspension to Flamini and the injury to Ramsey. A midfielder is one of the solutions.
Kallstrom is hoping to secure his move ahead of Arsenal's weekend clash against Crystal Palace in the Premier League, when he could make his debut. The 31-year-old, who is a veteran Swedish international having been capped over 100 times by his country, would bring experience to Arsenal's midfield. And his arrival would come at a good time with news that Ramsey is set to be sidelined for a further six weeks after picking up a knock and Mathieu Flamini suspended. Meanwhile, Wenger made further calls for the January transfer window to be scrapped. The Gunners boss has long-been opposed to the concept, and said:
I would scrap the winter transfer window. It is 80-20 we will do something else today. The window is a distraction from the competition. I can understand the interest but it's not football.
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