Arsenal near deal for Sébastien Squillaci

Arsenal have agreed a £5m deal for Sevilla's France defender Sébastien Squillaci and the player was en route to north London last night to undergo a medical. The Arsenal manager has made central defensive cover a priority since the departures of William Gallas, Sol Campbell, Mikaël Silvestre and Philippe Senderos, all of them as free agents, but now he has added to his options with the capture of Squillaci. The 30-year-old refused to play for Sevilla in the Champions League play-off first leg against Braga as he did not want to become cup-tied in Europe and jeopardise his hopes of a move to Arsenal. Squillaci made 14 league starts for Sevilla last season and was a part of France's World Cup campaign in South Africa.