Anyway, Finn Kokholm of Krĝldrup's club B93 Copenhagen claims that the defender has played well enough to visibly impress Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger.

"Wenger was very impressed with the way that Per played even though he's not used to play in the 'zonemarking' that Arsenal use. Still he managed to play almost faultlessly, and proved that he is an intelligent player with fantastic abilities in man to man-situations - not many attackers get past him"

Kokholm anticipates that talks over a possible transfer will now take place, and says that "Per prefers to move after the new year, so he can finish his exams and take a break. But things could speed up, if Arsenal want him quicker".

At first glance all this seems very unlikely, given that Arsenal have declared their intention to avoid big transfers until the future of the transfer system is clearer. But the money they're talking about for Krĝldrup, at around one million pounds, could be small enough for Arsenal to take a gamble.

See previous Krĝldrup item for more info about the player. We reported in one of those items that Arsenal were said to be interested in another young Dane. Well, Denmark's equivalent of Ceefax is today reporting that 17 yr-old Sebastien Svárd of KB (a feeder club of FC Copenhagen) has been invited for a 1 week trial at Arsenal. Svárd can play in both defence and midfield, and is in the Danish U18 side. Looks like Danish Ceefax haven't got it completely right, though, as AFCi report that Svárd has actually signed for Arsenal, under the usual terms (ie undisclosed feee, long-term contract).

You heard it here first!

Thanks again to Peter Bjerre for keeping us posted.