Sunday paper round up

• The Sunday Mirror says we're close to signing Andrei Arshavin - £18million and £85,000 a week. Unlike Arsenal we match Zenit's demands and pay the whole fee upfront. And so apparently he 'looks likely' to come to City this week. I'm a bit sceptical about this. It's the first time we've heard it, and it's not from a very reputable source. Also, Arshavin isn't really the solution to any of our problems (consistency in defence, steel in midfield, presence and nous in attack). He is a good player though.

• The Mail on Sunday says Hughes is switching attention to foreign based players after being quoted big prices by Premier League clubs. It mentions Miguel Veloso and 'defenders in Holland'. One of the best reasons for keeping Hughes is the quality of his scouting network (which combined with all our money should lead to quality arrivals) - if he can find more players in the mold of Kompany and Zabaleta we'll be doing ok.

• A story in the News of the World about goalkeepers. Newcastle want £11m for Shay Given so we're going for Carlo Cudicini instead. Cudicini would be a good buy - probably better than Joe Hart, but also sufficiently old not to really block Hart's development.