Arsenal say Anelka stays with them

Arsenal have agreed to keep Nicolas Anelka after an epic transfer saga ended in disappointment for the French international.

The 20 year old is to play on for at least another season with the Premiership club after personal terms were 'not concluded' according to a statement from the Highbury club ten minutes ago.

Juventus denied at lunch time speculation that the player was to join them and then be loaned to SS Lazio in a unique transfer scenario with each side paying £11 million of the £22 million transfer fee which SS Lazio agreed with Arsenal yesterday.

The agreement with Arsenal stipulated that the wages on offer to Anelka in a planned four year spell in Rome would be £14 million rather than the £18 million that the Anelka camp had been expecting at the end of this 152 day transfer saga.

The French star was unable to agree to those personal terms yesterday and the deal stalled again as reports from Italy and France told of a new initiative by Juventus to seal a move for the player they bid £15 million for last March in a bid rejected by Arsenal.

Anelka - who had threatened extensive and costly legal action to break his contract with the London side and force through his favoured move to Lazio - has four years of a contract in England to run. He failed to meet the Arsenal squad for pre season training two weeks ago and stayed in Paris but is now set to return. The Arsenal club are hopeful they can avoid another round of damaging transfer talk in the coming season by helping the French player to settle better in London and are reviewing their attempt to sign Thierry Henry from Juventus as the player they wanted to replace Anelka in a £10 million deal.

SS Lazio have been left with nothing after nearly two months of intense work on the Anelka transfer. They wanted the French player to replace Christian Vieri who moved to Inter Milan in June for a world record £31 million fee last month. They have failed to land their stated targets in Anelka and Claudio Lopez but have signed Kennet Andersson and Simone Inzaghi to add to their attack.

Arsenal will now try to concentrate on helping Anelka regain match fitness after his extended summer break. The new Premiership season starts on August 7th and the French player is expected back in action the following week.

The club statement from Arsenal this after noon makes no mention of Anelka's threat to start strike action against the club if he failed to sign for SS Lazio but Arsenal agreed a fee to sell the player and his failure to agree personal terms should see him back with Arsenal soon.

His problems though could only be beginning. The club's fans have reacted angrily to the long running attempts by Anelka and his agents to leave the club and have threatened extensive protests against the player who already feels put upon and isolated at the London club.