Anelka and Arsenal in war of attrition

Nicolas Anelka is continuing his rebellion against Arsenal and has absented himself from any pre season work with the club with a doctor's note from Paris.

Anelka claims stress as the cause of an unspecified illness and is staying away from the club in a new stage of the war of nerves over his on-off move to Italy.

The striker - removed yesterday from the London club's transfer list after failing to agree terms with SS Lazio after Arsenal accepted a £22 million offer for the player on Monday - has not returned to England since the end of last season and has worked continually to try and break away from his contract with the Premiership club. Transfer rumours have linked the 20 year old with OM, Real Madrid and Juventus but SS Lazio have been in six weeks of negotiations to try and land the French international to replace Christian Vieri who was sold to Inter last month for a world record £31 million fee.

Arsenal must now decide on their course of action. They have a contract with Anelka which lasts another four years. Fans have turned against the moody star and he is regarded as an unwelcome enigma by the senior Arsenal playing staff.

They cannot cancel his contract - that would free a move to Italy immediately and lose the club a massive transfer fee but the player is unlikely to return to them now. Sources in Rome still insist that Lazio believe their chance of signing the striker has not ended and Anelka is clearly hoping that Arsenal's resolve will weaken and he will be sold to Lazio eventually. He seems prepared to sit out the season and wait for movement in this 153 day and counting transfer saga which started in March when Juventus had a £15 million bid for the player rejected.

It is a dangerous strategy for the young player. He is already close to exclusion from the French national team as he will be unable to be match fit for the coming Euro 2000 ties in the first week of September.

Anelka has looked at legal action to try and annul his contract but that could take years and faces an uncertain outcome - the club have strong arguments in their favour.

There is no doubting Anelka's unpopularity with the Arsenal staff and he is desperate to move to Rome but there are signs that the endless nature of the transfer speculation has also turned Lazio squad members against their possible new striker.

New signing striker Simone Inzaghi spoke yesterday at La Formello to say the club does not need another striker when they have himself and other stars. Pre season form for Croatia star Alen Boksic for example has been excellent.