Arsenal eye Downing and line up £10m Samba bid

The Metro reports that Stewart Downing has put Arsenal and Liverpool on red alert after refusing to pledge his future to Aston Villa. The 26-year-old winger has turned down the chance to sign a contract extension that would keep him at Villa Park beyond the two years still to run on his existing contract. The Metro quotes Downing as saying his agent has met with Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner, who was eager to negotiate a new deal, but that he's decided against such a move, for the time being. "I am 26 and at a major crossroads in my career so I won't be committing to a new deal at the moment," Downing said, adding: "The most important thing is to play football, but I do want to play in the Champions League at some point."

That will be music to the ears of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, a long time fan of Downing, and it's believed he might come in with a big money offer for the winger as early as next week. Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is also said to be an admirer of Downing's but without the enticement of European football next season, the Scot will probably have to set his sights a little lower.

With Bolton's Gary Cahill tipped to be joining Manchester City rather than the Gunners, Arsenal have apparently turned their attentions to another dominant centre back currently residing in Lancashire - Blackburn's Christopher Samba.

It is widely believed that Arsenal boss Wenger tried to lure the Congolese defender to London in January for £6m but failed. Now, according to the Star, he is now teeing up a bid of £10m for the blood-and-guts defender who would certainly add some much needed muscle to the Gunner's dainty rearguard.

Adriano Galliani, chief executive of AC Milan, has admitted his interested in signing the Spurs duo of Rafael van der Vaart and Gareth Bale, two players who he believes will strengthen the Serie A side in next season's Champions League. Talking to reporters on Thursday, Galliani mulled over possible signings for the coming season, saying: "We already have two attacking midfielders in Kevin Prince Boateng and Clarence Seedorf ...  [so] there is a need for a left-sided midfielder. Kwadwo Asamoah of Udinese is one, Napoli's Hamsik is one, so are Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart."

However, asked if Milan had made an approach for Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas - as reported in some papers – Galliani replied : "Fabregas is too expensive. It'll be difficult to sign a player from one of the big European teams."

Talking of Arsenal, Talksport claim that the promising Henri Lansbury could find himself surplus to requirements at the Emirates next season if he doesn't put pen to paper and sign a new contract. The 20-year-old midfielder, who made a handful of appearances for the Gunners early in the season before being farmed out on loan to Norwich, wants a reassurance from Wenger that he will be a regular next season before he agrees to new terms. Allegedly, Wenger isn't prepared to make such a cast iron guarantee, though he has told Lansbury he has a bright future with the club.

In other news Lazio defender Stephan Lichtsteiner finds himself at the centre of an unseemly struggle between Juventus and Manchester City. According to reports from Italy the 27-year-old defender's form has been such this season that he's picked up a host of admirers. Tottenham were said to be keen at one stage but now apparently it's come down to a tussle between the Sky Blues and Juventus. Even though City's back four performed well in the second half of the season boss Roberto Mancini believes he could do with reinforcements ahead of their foray in the Champions League, and Lichtsteiner's £6m price tag would cause the club no sleepless nights.

Finally, flying Dutchman Wesley Sneijder has said he'll be staying at Inter Milan next season despite the advances of Manchester United. The Red Devils are known to be fans of the 26-year-old playmaker but when asked by Italian rag Corriere dello Sport where he saw himself next season Sneijder replied: "I'll be here." The news will come as a welcome relief to Inter fans at the end of a tumultuous season in which they failed to retain either their Champions league or Serie A titles. ·