Fiorentina officials travelled to London yesterday to offer Arsenal £5.5m for Fredrik Ljungberg. The Serie A club's director of sport, Pantaleo Corvino, and chief executive, Sandro Mencucci, arrived to sign the 30-year-old Sweden captain, who is wanted by several European clubs after two barren seasons in north London.

Ljungberg, under contract until 2009, made only 26 appearances in an injury-hit 2006-07 but has recently underlined his commitment to Arsenal. Fiorentina are offering a four-year deal worth £1.5m a year - a significant pay cut, although it would make him the Italian club's highest earner - and are ready to sweeten the deal by also offering Valeri Bojinov, the prolific 21-year-old Bulgaria striker.

Arsenal's preparations for the new season were further disrupted last night when William Gallas suggested his future might lie away from the Emirates Stadium and Cesc Fábregas was again linked with a move to Real Madrid.

Gallas criticised the club's transfer policy and its reliance on youth, warning that he was not alone in his concerns. "Today I am at Arsenal but I do not know what can occur tomorrow," he said. "All happens so quickly in the world of football. What is sure is that several players are questioning the club's future.

"Around us all the teams are recruiting but what is planned to compensate for the departure of [Thierry] Henry [to Barcelona]? I am not at Arsenal to play for third place. It is necessary to recruit players of reputation because the young players have many qualities but the season is very long."

Bernd Schuster said on his first day as Real Madrid manager: "I like Cesc Fábregas. He is one of the few players in his position that can carry a team, and when I say teams I mean quality teams."

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