Fernando Llorente wants Arsenal transfer in January

Fernando Llorente is keen on a January move to Arsenal - to save his World Cup hopes. Llorente is on the Gunners' hit-list of possible January deals to boost their squad and push for the Premier League title.

Arsenal are watching developments with the Spaniard closely and are determined to sign a striker in January and believe Llorente could be interested.

The 28-year-old Spain international is only now beginning to get a chance at the Turin giants following a summer move, and his advisers are concerned his World Cup chances may be affected if he is not a regular in Serie A.

Arsenal scouted Llorente before he joined Juve on a free last summer from Spain's Athletic Bilbao.They have now been alerted to his potential availability.

Any transfer would almost certainly be a loan as Arsenal look for more long-term options, and may not want to make a big signing if they are already cup-tied for the Champions League.

Llorente could fill a short-term gap and provide back-up and competition for Olivier Giroud, who is Arsenal's only fit and senior centre-forward at the club.

Arsenal Close In On £25m Deal to Sign El Shaarawy

Arsenal are reportedly closing in on a deal to sign AC Milan striker Stephan El Shaarawy after the North London club opened negotiations with the Serie A side. Arsenal have been involved in ‘secret’ talks with AC Milan over their interest in the 20 year old Italian international.

El Shaarawy has started just one domestic fixture this term as AC Milan boss has opted to use Robinho, Balotelli and summer signing Matri as his main attacking weapons.

The lack of opportunities handed to El Shaarawy has surprised many given that the youngster finished as the club’s top scorer last term, netting 19 goals in all competitions, and now Arsenal are readying a £25m bid for the striker who is looking for the regular first team football he needs in order to cement a prominent role in the Italian national team set-up at the 2014 World Cup finals next summer.

Arsene Wenger is keen to strengthen his attack and is known to be a big admirer of El Shaarawy, who adheres to the French manager’s traditional youthful transfer policy.

Currently Arsenal rely heavily on Olivier Giroud but and Wenger is looking to bring in another striking weapon to assist in the club’s push for the Premier League title.

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Wenger set to bid £26m for trio

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger looks set to raid the transfer market for youth once again this January as he lines up bids for three of the game’s brightest prospects, Patrick Olsen of Inter Milan, Tonny Vilhena of Feyenoord, and Jorginho of Hellas Verona, who would likely cost a combined fee of £26m.

Olsen, 19, is a Danish Under-21 international, and looks a promising midfielder. The Inter starlet has not yet featured for the club’s first team, but has fallen onto Wenger’s radar before as Arsenal tried to bring him in during the summer. Inter rate him highly though, and would likely command a fee of around £7m for his services.

Vilhena, 18, is a Dutch Under-21 midfielder and has become a regular for Feyenoord this season, scoring four goals for the team. He is widely regarded as one of the best young players in Europe at the moment and would also set the Gunners back a fair amount with an asking price in the region of £8m.

And finally, Jorginho is one of the more recognisable names on the list, with the 21-year-old attracting a great deal of attention from the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and AC Milan with his displays for Verona in Serie A this season. He has scored five goals in ten appearances and looks a promising attacker whose skillful style of play would certainly suit Arsenal’s style. Jorginho would likely cost £11m, though if other clubs step up their interest the fee could rise.

Wenger set to bid £26m for trio

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger looks set to raid the transfer market for youth once again this January as he lines up bids for three of the game’s brightest prospects, Patrick Olsen of Inter Milan, Tonny Vilhena of Feyenoord, and Jorginho of Hellas Verona, who would likely cost a combined fee of £26m.

Olsen, 19, is a Danish Under-21 international, and looks a promising midfielder. The Inter starlet has not yet featured for the club’s first team, but has fallen onto Wenger’s radar before as Arsenal tried to bring him in during the summer. Inter rate him highly though, and would likely command a fee of around £7m for his services.

Vilhena, 18, is a Dutch Under-21 midfielder and has become a regular for Feyenoord this season, scoring four goals for the team. He is widely regarded as one of the best young players in Europe at the moment and would also set the Gunners back a fair amount with an asking price in the region of £8m.

And finally, Jorginho is one of the more recognisable names on the list, with the 21-year-old attracting a great deal of attention from the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and AC Milan with his displays for Verona in Serie A this season. He has scored five goals in ten appearances and looks a promising attacker whose skillful style of play would certainly suit Arsenal’s style. Jorginho would likely cost £11m, though if other clubs step up their interest the fee could rise.

Arsenal Agree Personal Terms With Benzema

Arsenal’s pursuit of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has apparently taken a big step closer to completion with as the North London club have agreed personal terms with the Frenchman.

Arsenal are thought to be hopeful of signing Benzema in a £22m deal in January and the Emirates Stadium side have apparently agreed terms on a four year deal that would see the French international earn £80,000 a week.

Benzema has come in for a fair bit of abuse from the Bernabeu faithful after a stuttering start to the season though the striker did bag two goals in Real Madrid’s mid-week 7-3 win over Sevilla, this coming after a seven game long La Liga goal drought.

Wenger is no doubt keen to strengthen his strike-force, with Olivier Giroud being heavily relied upon to deliver the goods, not least as the Arsenal manager sees Lukas Podolski and Theo Walcott as wide attacking options, leaving Dane Nicklas Bendtner as the current back-up option for the Premier League table toppers

Tesla Model S: Now the No. 1 car of the (West Coast) wealthy

The choice of the conscious wealthy.

(Credit: Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

You know what a Porsche says about you? It says you don't care.

You know what a Mercedes says about you? It says you believe that if the world ran out of gazelles, it would be just fine.

What drives me to such draconian extrapolations? A piece of fascinating analysis performed by Edmunds.com.

It attempted to discover whether the Tesla Model S was popular beyond the chest-beating, organic sackcloth-wearing confines of Silicon Valley.

Stunningly, the numbers show that in 8 of the top 25 most expensive ZIP codes in the US, the Tesla was the No. 1 registered vehicle of 2013. And it was No. 1 in more of the top 25 than any other vehicle.

Yes, America's wealthy are rallying round to save the Earth. Or, at least, to buy the same rather attractive car.

The East Coast's rich still seem mired in tradition. Take the 10065 ZIP code -- in the heart of New York. The median home price is $4,860,494. But the most registered car title is a tie, between the Mercedes GL-Class and, um, the Jeep Grand Cherokee.Of course, all eight of the ZIP codes were in California, where people always like to think they are ahead of any curve -- especially if they've invented that curve in the first place.

Then there's the 11962 ZIP code. This is Sagaponack, NY, the fifth most wealthy ZIP code. Do you imagine these folks are caring enough to choose, say, the Prius as their favorite car? Sadly, no. Their favorite is the Jeep Wrangler.

California and New York ZIP codes dominate. Aspen, Colo., and Coral Gables, Fla., are the only outliers. The latter favors the BMW 3 series. And the former? Well, it's obvious, really. The Aspenites choose the Ford F-Series.

I am sure that there are many structural reasons, as well as mental, for these disparities.

However, given that Teslas do look very pretty, perhaps they will soon become status symbols as ubiquitous as Mercedes.

Which means that everyone will start making more jokes about them.

The Earth is grateful.