Manuel Rui Costa, the Portuguese playmaker who helped destroy England in Eindhoven on Monday, is wanted by Arsenal.

Highbury boss Arsene Wenger was impressed by the Fiorentina midfielder long before he bamboozled Kevin Keegan's men.

Arsenal's biggest problem, however, is likely to be in hanging on to their current foreign stars, even though the north London club have qualified for another UEFA Champions League campaign.

Italian champions Lazio say they are prepared to pay £18million for Marc Overmars, while Inter Milan have notified Arsenal that they would be willing to pay a staggering £10m for Sweden midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg.

Meanwhile, striker Nwankwo Kanu has been blasted by the Nigerian Football Association after missing a training camp with the national side.

Kanu decided to promote his heart foundation programme instead of attending the training session ahead of Nigeria's World Cup qualifier against Sierra Leone.

'This is not how to be patriotic,' said Dominic Oneya who is president of the Nigerian FA.