Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger sees Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema as his dream transfer target according to the Sunday Mirror.
Last season forwards Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck both failed to produce a consistent run of form and the north London side were often indebted to Chilean Alexis Sanchez for an end product.
The 26-year-old netted 25 times in his debut season and his 16 goal Premier League haul was only marginally less than the total Giroud and Welbeck combined.
The Sunday Mirror reports on comments made by Arsenal director Lord Harris relating to the north London club’s healthy financial position.
Arsenal have £200m in the bank (via the Daily Mail) and Lord Harris believes Wenger could make a move for big-name targets, the 72-year-old stating;
‘We could go into the market and probably buy any player in the world, apart from half a dozen who are un-buyable.
In the accounts, there’s over £200million in the bank’ Lord Harris added.
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has long been linked with an interest in Karim Benzema, dating all the way back to when the French forward was lining up for Lyon (via the Daily Mail), and the Bernabeu star has been a consistent goal-scoring weapon over the past five seasons.
Benzema was a regular under former boss Carlo Ancelotti but recent reports suggest that newly appointed manager Rafa Benitez could use Gareth Bale in a central striking role (via the Daily Telegraph).
In recent transfer windows Arsene Wenger hasn’t been afraid to dig deep with moves to bring in Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez costing £42.5m (via the Guardian) and £35m (via the BBC) respectively.
Karim Benzema has bagged 20+ goals in each of his past five seasons at Real Madrid and has netted a healthy total of 133 goals in 281 appearances for the Spanish giants.
Thus far this summer Arsene Wenger’s only major signing has come in the form of keeper Petr Cech, who arrived from rivals Chelsea, and the Czech Republic international will offer a strong option between the sticks.