Arsenal eye Ajax ace

Arsenal hope to sign Ajax defender Hatem Trabelsi later this week. Arsene Wenger has been monitoring the performances of the Tunisian defender since he fell out with the Dutch club in January and is closing in on a £3million deal, as revealed in Standard Sport a fortnight ago.

Trabelsi, who was part of the Tunisia side which won this year's African Nations Cup and is a former African Footballer of the Year, will provide cover for Cameroon international defender Lauren. The 27-year-old has also been offered to Newcastle and Chelsea but would prefer a move to Highbury.

Meanwhile, Wenger has ruled out bids for Marco Ne and Emmanuel Eboue but admits they could be players to watch for in the future.

The Ivory coast duo - who play for Belgian First Division side Beveren - were given the second half of Saturday's friendly against Barnet to show their talents. They performed with credit in Arsenal's 10-1 thrashing of the Conference side, but Wenger feels it is too soon to offer them a move to Highbury.