Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is eyeing Arsenal skipper Robin van Persie as Carlos Tevez's replacement. The Guardian says the potential availability of the Arsenal captain, who is in the last two years of his contract and showing no desire to negotiate new terms, has been discussed at Eastlands, with the Dutchman already under consideration even before the controversy that has left Tevez a pariah at the club.

City's information is that Van Persie, 28, can be prised from Arsenal on an increasingly well-trodden route that has seen Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Touré, Gaël Clichy and Samir Nasri make the same journey in recent years.