Teamtalk throws a new name into the frame today, with 'reports from Highbury this morning' saying that Wenger wants to take Inter Milan's (almost) 20-year old striker Andrea Pirlo on loan for a year. Arsenal were apparently keen to buy him outright, but Inter aren't up for that.

Pirlo joined Inter from Brescia last summer, after scoring 4 goals in 29 appearances during 1997/8. The Inter web site says he's under contract until June 2003.

It's great to see Wenger making use of the loan system; it's still very rare (certainly in comparative terms) for an English Premiership club to take players on a temporary basis.