Wenger puzzled by Bolton stance on Cahill
Arsene Wenger has accused Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside of disseminating mistruths over Arsenal's bid to sign Bolton's England centre-back Gary Cahill.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: August 26, 2011 10:14 PM IST
Arsene Wenger has accused Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside of disseminating mistruths over Arsenal's bid to sign Bolton's England centre-back Gary Cahill.
Bolton said they had rejected a "derisory" offer of £6 million ($9.8m) from Arsenal for the 25-year-old but Wenger insisted the figure quoted was inaccurate.
"That number is wrong," said Wenger. "It is completely wrong. Every negotiation is between two parties and you only have to sell the player if you are all right with the price.
"In this case the information is below what has been spoken about."
Bolton coach Owen Coyle was dismissive of Arsenal's bid and Gartside was drawn into the row when he retweeted a Twitter message from a Bolton fan questioning the seriousness of the bid. The retweet was later deleted.
Wenger said he did not understand Bolton's reaction.
"You only have to sell the player if you are all right with the price," he said. "It is not true. You can believe Gartside or you can believe me. It's not right. It's not the truth."
"If Gartside can say I am lying, I am ready to confront him. The truth is that we never speak about our negotiations."
"If a club doesn't want to sell a player, it can keep him. When we sign a player, we come out here and tell you and keep the price a secret."
"They do not need to sell the player, they can keep him. If you ask do I want to buy your house and you are not happy with the price you say no, that's it. Why should you feel insulted? I don't understand."
"If the player is not for sale, they can keep him. I don't understand the problem. If we want to buy the player, we buy the player. I do not have to explain for how much."