Arsenal Transfer News: Meeting Salomon Kalou's Wage Demands Would Be Foolish

Arsenal doesn't need to get involved with Chelsea for anything other than playing on the pitch.

The club at Stamford Bridge have been one of the wackiest of clubs all season long, while Arsene Wenger has managed to do one of his finest managing jobs to date.

The North London outfit is currently one point behind Chelsea, and reports indicate that Wenger is interested in one of their out of favor players.

According to Goal.com:

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has made a £3 million enquiry for Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou, according to the Daily Mail.

The Gunners boss is believed to be a long-time admirer of Kalou, having tried to sign him in the summer of 2008, and with the Ivorian now out of favour and struggling to agree terms on a new contract at Stamford Bridge, he may be ready to make another move.

The one potential stumbling block to any deal, however, could well be the player’s wage demands. Goal.com understands Kalou is thought to be holding out for £90,000 a week – money it appears neither Chelsea nor Arsenal are willing to pay him.

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And there is a reason Chelsea don't want to extend Kalou for £90,000 a week. The 26-year-old Ivorian is extremely talented, but he's been awfully disappointing so far this season.

He's appeared in only four league games under Aston Villas-Boas' rule and has scored one goal on seven shots.

Kalou has been much better outside the Premier League, though, scoring a goal apiece in League Cup and Europe.

There is no denying that Kalou has the potential to be very good at time—he scored a career high 10 Premier League goals last season and 12 goals overall—but he struggles with consistency and doesn't warrant the number he's holding out for.

Plus, if he can't get on the field for a disappointing Chelsea squad, Wenger has to think twice about getting even close to that number.

There isn't reason to completely rule out adding Kalou—a change of scenery may be all he needs, and there is denying that AVB has plenty of critics—but it must not be for £90,000 a week.

If Kalou doesn't come down from that, the Gunners need to add their offensive boost elsewhere.