Arsenal duo Manuel Almunia & Nicklas Bendtner in move talks

By Phil DawkesBBC Sport
Manuel Almunia (left) and Nicklas Bendtner (right)
Almunia (left) and Bendtner (right) were left out of the pre-season tour to Asia

Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia and striker Nicklas Bendtner are in talks with unnamed clubs over moves away from the Emirates.

Bendtner, 23, and Almunia, 34, were left out a 23-man squad that will travel to Asia for a pre-season tour.

An Arsenal spokesman confirmed this was so the pair could undertake negotiations over potential transfers.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is expected to clarify details over the impending moves at a press conference on Monday.

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas, who has been strongly linked with a move to former club Barcelona this summer, will also miss the tour in order to receive treatment on a muscle injury.

The other notable absentee is defender Emmanuel Eboue, who is nursing a calf strain.

However, midfielder Samir Nasri - reportedly the target of interest from Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea - will travel with the squad.

Arsenal first head to Malaysia on Sunday to face an All-Star XI before heading west to face Hangzhou Greentown in China.

Should Bendtner and Almunia exit the Emirates that will make three notable departures from Arsenal this summer following Gael Clichy's £6m move to Manchester City.

Spaniard Almunia, who moved to London from Celta Vigo in 2004, began last season as Arsenal's first-choice keeper but spent much of the campaign sidelined through a combination of injury and Wenger's preference for Wojciech Szczesny as his number one.

Denmark international Bendtner joined the Arsenal academy in 2005 and spent the 2006/07 season on loan at Birmingham.

Last season he made 32 appearances for the Gunners (18 of them as a substitute) and scored eight goals, including a hat-trick against Leyton Orient in an FA Cup fifth-round replay.