Agent : Arsenal made Montolivo enquiry

Arsenal made an enquiry into the availability of AC Milan midfielder Riccardo Montolivio, according to the player's agent, but it would be "very difficult" for the Italy international to leave San Siro.

The Gunners were in the market for midfield cover during the January transfer window, with Kim Kallstrom drafted in from Spartak Moscow after Aaron Ramsey's recovery stalled – though the Swede has yet to play for the north Londoners due to a back injury.

One player that caught Arsene Wenger's eye was Montolivo, says the Italian's representative Giovanni Branchini – though he insists the 29-year-old, also subject to interest from Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, is keen to stay at Milan.

"Milan have had a difficult season so far and I think I can say that Riccardo Montolivo has been one of the brightest notes," Branchini told Calciomercato.

"He became a fixture of the Rossoneri and was even given the captain's armband as proof. He is very happy with the club to which he belongs, and the club and fans are very satisfied with him.

"An extension? He has a contract until June 2016, so it is not a priority to talk about an extension at this time. That's a discussion we'll have, I think, next year.

"Has there been interest from other clubs? There have been tentative enquiries from Atletico Madrid, [Dortmund boss Jurgen] Klopp and Arsenal, to name a few.

"All were trying to ascertain whether the 'path' to Montolivo was feasible. At the moment, however, I feel it would be very difficult for the player to leave Milan, precisely because of what I said before."

Read More»

Montolivo: Milan deserved more against Juventus

Riccardo Montolivo feels AC Milan deserved at least a draw in Sunday's Serie A encounter against Juventus and has urged his team-mates to show more of the same in the weeks to come, regardless of their 2-0 loss against the reigning champions.

Clarence Seedorf's charges applied themselves well in the first half at San Siro and saw the likes of Kaka, Montolivo and Andrea Poli come close to breaking the deadlock, but Juventus dealt a hammer blow to the hosts shortly before half-time when Fernando Llorente tapped home and the visitors cemented their position on 68 minutes with a stunning strike from Carlos Tevez.

Nevertheless, Montolivo felt Milan were unfortunate to lose the game and believes that the players can take pride in the way they acquitted themselves against the defending champions.

"It's disappointing to talk about the loss after such a good performance," he told the club's official website.

"We deserved to take the lead in the first half and we went in at half-time a goal down. It's very tough but we have to keep on this road that we're on with this attitude and this desire to play the game.

"We need continuity and that's what we're looking for. If we don't win then it's obvious we have to improve.

"I think that in the big games the performances have always been there. We have to improve in certain situations where Juve punished us but today we showed good intensity and balance.

"We dropped a bit in the second half but it's tough to talk about a loss when we deserved a different result."

The setback leaves Milan in 10th position in Serie A with 35 points, 17 adrift of a Champions League spot.

Read More»