Gunners closing in on Kalou capture

Arsene Wenger is closing in on Chelsea's Salomon Kalou, according to reports.

Arsenal are said to have offered £6m for the midfielder but the Blues are holding out for a figure closer to £8m.

Wenger has a £30m transfer kitty to spend after the high profile departures of Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure, who both went to Manchester City.

Arsenal's only signing so far this summer remains Thomas Vermaelen, who they bought from Ajax for £10m.

Kalou is set to be offered the chance to double his weekly wage at the Emirates, with a five-year deal worth £60,000 a week being rumoured.

Kalou was quoted in Ferbuary as saying he would like to play under Wenger. He said: "He is a very great coach and I know that every single player in the world dreams of playing for him.

"I have a lot of respect for him, he is one of the best coaches in the world. Arsenal are achieving huge things and watching them play is beautiful."

Chelsea may be willing to let Kalou leave if they can tie up a deal for Andrea Pirlo. The AC Milan skipper has been the subject of a recent £14m bid from the Stamford Bridge club.

Meanwhile, Marouane Chamakh has reportedly flown to London in an attempt to push though his move to Arsenal from Bordeaux.

The 25-year-old said on Monday he was "disgusted" by the French club's approach to the deal.

Champion's League: Iniesta's late heartbreaker

Chelsea 1 - 1 Barcelona
2ND LEG: 1 - 1 (Agg)

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Ten-man Barcelona robbed Chelsea of a place in the Champions League final in the cruellest of fashions with a 93rd-minute away goal at Stamford Bridge.
A stunning first-half volley from Michael Essien looked to have earned Chelsea victory and set up a repeat of last year's Champions League final against Manchester United.

But Andres Iniesta beat Petr Cech in the third minute of added time to send the Spanish bench and their fans delirious and leave Guus Hiddink crestfallen.
At the final whistle, Chelsea's players confronted referee Tom Ovrebo, who had waved away at least four penalty appeals during the game.

The scenes descended into anger when Drogba emerged from the tunnel to confront the Norwegian official and was shown a yellow card.
Ovrebo had a poor game and was marshalled down to the tunnel by Chelsea stewards as Drogba continued to complain about his performance.
The Ivorian then vented his fury by shouting "it's a f***ing disgrace'' down the lens of a TV camera, and the fall-out from Drogba's behaviour may yet be met by a UEFA investigation.
It had all looked so promising for Chelsea when Essien, who missed six months of the season while he recovered from a serious knee ligament injury, despatched a 20-yard volley beyond the despairing Victor Valdes.

Chelsea's collective desire to reach the final once more was epitomised in the way they took the fire out of Barcelona's early football.

The Catalans, missing their two first-choice centre-backs through injury and suspension, played some neat, fast and accurate football in the first 20 minutes.
It was a perfect example of the beautiful game mastered by coach Pep Guardiola but it lacked the cutting edge in the absence of the injured Thierry Henry.

The Barca attack has shared more than 90 goals between them this season but Chelsea managed to prevent them scoring in 180 minutes of high-tempo football.
That Chelsea scored with their first real attack of the game would have left the Barca coach bitterly disappointed.

Frank Lampard's attempted cross cannoned off Yaya Toure and Essien despatched his volley into the net via the underside of the crossbar.
It sparked Chelsea into life and, for the remainder of the opening half, they bossed the game.
Lampard almost put Drogba through in the 22nd minute but Valdes managed to beat the Ivorian to the ball on the edge of the penalty area.
Barca were rocking now and a catalogue of fouls by Dani Alves was finally punished with a yellow card when he brought down Ashley Cole. It meant the full-back was out of the final.
But Ovrebo waved away penalty appeals from Chelsea when Drogba, a colossus in attack all night, was brought down by Eric Abidal.
The second half promised more drama and it did not disappoint. Drogba missed a gilt-edged chance when Florent Malouda and Anelka put the Ivorian clear in the 52nd minute.

Somehow, Valdes got a foot to his shot to keep Barca's hopes alive.
But the Catalans were in deep trouble in the 65th minute when Abidal brought down the free-running Anelka and, as the last defender, was shown the red card.
Chelsea continued to take the initiative as Barca were reduced to long-range shots.
In the 70th minute, Valdes saved Guardiola's side again when a Lampard shot took a wicked deflection.

But two minutes later Drogba was replaced by Juliano Belletti, much to the crowd's surprise and the Ivorian's clear disapproval.
As the clock ran down, Chelsea continued to pour forward in search of a decisive second to calm the nerves but, although they had made Barcelona look very ordinary, there was a sting in the tail.

Chelsea's heroes had fought for every ball as if their lives depended on it but they allowed Iniesta too much room and, when he beat Cech from 20 yards in the 93rd minute, chaos descended on Stamford Bridge.
But there was still time for more drama when Michael Ballack's goalbound effort seemed to hit a defender's arm only for Ovrebo to wave away more appeals.
Ballack was shown the yellow card for protesting and, when the final whistle sounded, Barca celebrated in unbridled fashion while Chelsea's players began their attacks on Ovrebo.

It was an unsavoury end to Chelsea's European campaign that may yet have further repercussions for the English side.

Champion's League: Disciplined Chelsea frustrate Barca

Semi Final Leg 1 Nou Camp
Barcelona 0 - 0 Chelsea

Chelsea's defensive discipline earned them a precious goalless draw against Barcelona to make them slight favourites to reach their second successive Champions League final.
Coach Guus Hiddink's pre-match prediction that the first leg of this semi-final tie would be saturated in goals proved incorrect as Chelsea put in a highly competent defensive shift.

Hiddink's tactic of giving holding roles to both John Obi Mikel and Michael Ballack worked superbly and Lionel Messi was marked out of the contest by Jose Bosingwa.

Barca's strike force of Samuel Eto'o, Messi and Thierry Henry have scored 90 goals between them in all competitions so far this season.

But Henry proved to be Barca's real danger man when he twice forced Petr Cech into important saves in the opening half.

However, to a man, Chelsea were defiant and disciplined with full-backs Branislav Ivanovic and Bosingwa faultless while John Terry and Alex were solid as a rock.

Hiddink will be more than pleased with the night's work and Chelsea should have enough in their artillery to go on and finish the job in the return match next week.

The atmosphere in the stadium was electric with the Nou Camp faithful in full voice.

The hosts almost grabbed an early lead when a free-kick from the left reached Samuel Eto'o at the far post after Cech misread the flight of the ball. However, the Cameroon striker's far-post header flashed across the face of the goal with Rafael Marquez unable to connect.

Cech was in trouble again in the 11th minute when he surprisingly opted to punch clear a cross by Eric Abidal.

Luckily for the Czech, none of the Barcelona forwards were quick enough to capitalise on his error.

But Barcelona soon gained control of the midfield and when Messi slipped Daniel Alves clear, the full-back's dangerous low cross was cleared decisively by Alex.

Moments later, Eto'o tried his luck from 20 yards but his low drive was more than a little wayward and Cech was untroubled by his effort.

Barcelona pegged Chelsea back with a series of corners as the half-hour approached.

Chelsea's defence repelled the danger every time but the Blues were forced to camp in their own half as Barcelona looked for an opening.

In the 28th minute Xavi almost broke the deadlock with a long-range drive that flashed past Cech's right-hand upright.

Moments later Ballack was booked for a foul on Henry but the Barca player certainly made the most of it as he rolled on the ground as though he had been shot.

In the 31st minute though Henry was fit enough to unleash an angled drive that Cech gathered at the near post.

Cech pulled out another outstanding save to deny Henry again in the 34th minute as Barcelona continued to test Chelsea's defensive resolve at every opportunity.

Florent Malouda appeared to catch Alves in an off-the-ball incident and moments later the pair were involved in another spat which German referee Wolfgang Stark again chose to ignore.

But Chelsea should have been ahead when a dreadful back pass by Marquez put Didier Drogba clear in the 38th minute but the Ivorian's shot was twice saved superbly by Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

Barcelona suffered a major blow in the 50th minute when Marquez went down clutching the back of his knee and was carried off with possible ligament damage. He was immediately replaced by Carles Puyol.

But the Catalans won a corner in the 58th minute from which Messi volleyed high over the crossbar from 20 yards.

But Chelsea's defending had been admirable from the kick-off and Hiddink's side showed no sign of capitulating.

Whenever the home side did break through they found Cech in their way. In the 61st minute he proved his worth yet again when he blocked a ferocious angled drive from Alves.

In the 67th minute the former Sevilla star sent a free-kick just over the crossbar and Cech denied Eto'o with a fabulous save when the Barca striker got free of Alex for the first time in the game in the 69th minute.

Frank Lampard was replaced by Juliano Belletti in the 71st minute as Chelsea looked to protect the stalemate.

Puyol was booked for a foul on Michael Essien in the 75th minute and the card rules him out of the return leg at Stamford Bridge.

But Barcelona substitute Bojan Krkic could have won the first leg for his side but he somehow headed a cross from Alves over the bar from point-blank range, and there was still time for fellow sub Alexander Hleb to be denied by another great save from Cech in stoppage time.

It was their last chance and it could have costly repercussions for Pep Guardiola and his side at Stamford Bridge next week.

Keita targets clean sheet to take to Chelsea

Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita has stressed the importance of not conceding a goal in their Champions League semi-final first leg against Chelsea at the Nou Camp.

In their last 11 games, Barca have kept eight clean sheets and Keita believes they need to do likewise tomorrow against a Chelsea team he admits are a "great side''.

"It's very important to win and not to let a goal in,'' said Keita.

Barca are in the midst of a hectic end to the season as they chase honours on three fronts.

Not only are they in the Champions League semi-finals, but they are four points clear at the top of the Primera Division summit with five games remaining and also in final of the Copa del Rey.

That means the Catalan giants have little respite between matches, but nevertheless Keita insists coach Pep Guardiola's preparations are still meticulous and they will know everything they need to know about Chelsea by the time they face Guus Hiddink's men.

"The coach does a great job in preparing for matches. We see a lot of their games and we analyse their weak points and the dangers they could pose to us,'' he said.

"They (Chelsea) are an opponent we know well, they are a great side. We've seen how they play in both the Premier League and the Champions League.

"They are a difficult team, with physically very strong players, and a team who are capable of causing you problems at any time.''

Barca's bid to win their first Primera Division title since 2006 suffered a setback on Saturday when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Valencia, ending a run of seven successive league wins for Guardiola's side.

However, Barca are still in a strong position above arch rivals Madrid, and Keita insists the players remain in confident mood.

"The team is very calm because we are working well. We are only thinking of ourselves, it's not necessary to look at what Madrid are doing. If we do things well then in the end we will not have to suffer,'' he added.

Tomorrow's clash with Chelsea is not the only huge match Barca have this week.

On Saturday they must travel to the Bernabeu where they face second-placed Madrid in a match that could go a long way to deciding the Primera Division title.

Barca midfielder Xavi said on Catalunya Radio: "If we win at the Bernabeu, the league would be decided.

"We have the hope and the desire to win there, and sign off an excellent campaign for the team.

"We've worked hard to get where we are, we now have a key week for the Champions League and league.''

Chelsea end tour with win over Malaysia XI

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Reuters) - Chelsea rounded off their pre-season tour of Asia with a 2-0 win over a Malaysia select XI thanks to goals by Nicolas Anelka and Ashley Cole on Tuesday.
The Champions League finalists secured the third win of
their three-leg tour in hot and humid conditions in front of a
crowd of 80,000 at the Shah Alam stadium.

The Malaysians battled hard to fend off a Chelsea side
orchestrated by new signing Deco and the industrious Anelka, who
put the visitors ahead after 26 minutes.

The France striker latched on to a neat through ball from
Joe Cole, skipped past the defence and slotted home into the
bottom right hand corner from inside the penalty area.

The hosts created a handful of chances and forward Amiral
Hadi Zainal almost opened the scoring inside three minutes when
he broke free in the area and fired inches wide of the far post.

He also blew a perfect opportunity to equalise before
halftime when he popped up unmarked in the box but fired a weak
effort past the post with Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech beaten.

Portugal midfielder Deco then came close to a memorable
first goal in a Chelsea shirt when his spectacular volley from
22 metres was tipped over the bar by the Malaysian keeper.

Chelsea grabbed their second goal eight minutes after the
break when Ashley Cole received a Frank Lampard pass and blasted
the ball into the top right hand corner from five metres.

The match was a stark contrast to the previous two games,
when Chelsea romped to 7-0 and 4-0 victories over Chinese sides.

Premier League Chelsea's Brazilian manager Luiz Felipe
Scolari said the rugged pitch hampered his team's performance
and he was relieved that his players came out unscathed.

'I crossed my fingers to finish without injuries,' he told
reporters. 'It was impossible to play on this pitch, my players
tried to play but it was difficult, but I saw some players play
better than in the other games.'

Malaysia coach B Sathianathan said: 'I'm surprised. Everyone
thought Chelsea would steamroll past us but they didn't.'