Frederic Paquet, the general manager of Lille, the French champions, has confirmed Gervinho wants to move to England this summer and talks with Arsenal are planned.
Gervinho played a key role as Lille won the Ligue 1 and Coupe de France double last season, their first trophy for 56 years.
The Ivory Coast international, who can play as a central striker or a winger, contributed 15 goals and 10 assists in the league alone.
Paris St Germain have asked about the 24 year old but his club are not keen on selling to a domestic rival.
Paquet told the RMC radio station: "He wants to go and has developed contacts with Arsenal. We will soon have talks with them and see what they offer.
"He has expressed a desire to go to England and we will see what happens."
The link with PSG was a non-starter insists Paquet, who added: "Paris St Germain inquired but we are not thinking about strengthening a competitor."
Although Lille will entertain the idea of selling Gervinho, their stance is different on Eden Hazard, who has also interested Arsenal. Paquet has described the 20-year-old Belgian playmaker as "untransferable".
Lille earlier announced the capture of Ronny Rodelin, a 21-year-old striker from Ligue 2 club Nantes and they plan to keep the bulk of their squad intact in preparation for the defence of their title and Champions League football.
The possible move for Gervinho comes as Ivan Gazidis, Arsenal's chief executive, promised a busy few months in the transfer market with the club keen to bolster their squad after what he said had been a profoundly disappointing season.
Gazidis said shortcomings of the team, who finished fourth in the Premier League and have now gone six successive season without a trophy, had to be acknowledged and rectified.
"It is going to be an active summer. I expect to be busy and Arsene [Wenger, the manager] expects to be busy," Gazidis told a meeting of the Arsenal Supporters Trust at the Emirates Stadium on Monday. "We are working hard during this close season - very hard."
However, he declined to elaborate on who the club wanted to sign and also refused to answer questions on the futures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, the midfielders who have been linked with moves to other clubs.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2015%20PRO%20MAX
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