Tiote not on Wenger´s radar

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has ruled out trying to sign Newcastle midfielder Cheikh Tiote.

The Gunners had been linked with a move for the 26-year-old but Wenger has distanced himself from making a move for the combative player. .

The Ivorian player has been attracting interest from many clubs in his time in the North East, with Alan Pardew recently admitting that he was preparing himself for bids for Tiote and his central midfield partner Yohan Cabaye.

“Tiote is a good player, but he is not on his way to Arsenal,” Wenger told the club’s official website.

Arsenal has suffered a disappointing start to the season with two 0-0 draws, at home to Sunderland and away to Stoke, finding goals hard to come by in the wake of losing Robin van Persie to Manchester United, and Wenger has defended his strikers, saying the burden must be shared around the team.

He added: “It is an understanding because you have (Santi) Cazorla, (Lukas) Podolski, (Olivier) Giroud… one month ago they didn’t know each other. So that will come.

“There is some work to do on the training ground but you can feel the potential. You can see as well that there is something missing – we are not spontaneous enough in some situations.

“I am very positive about my team. People will say ‘OK, you didn’t score for two games’ and I cannot deny that. We played two teams who defend very well as a unit – Sunderland and Stoke. Overall I believe we can be a very good surprise in this championship.

“Of course (that will happen). Look, if you want to convince me that we lost an exceptional player, you are wasting your time. I was the first to say that.

“We have to find a way around that by sharing the goals more than we did before Van Persie. I think we can do that.

“Giroud scored 20 (last season at Montpellier), Podolski scored 20 (at Koln), and I am convinced we will get some goals from (Abou) Diaby and (Aaron) Ramsey, (Theo) Walcott, Gervinho. We have to share that around a little bit.

“I do not listen too much to what people say (on TV). I listen and I try to see if it is exaggerated or not. I have worked for 30 years on the football pitch every day.

“I know what it is to improve a football player and what it is to go out morning and afternoon to try to make a player. Not everybody can say that.”