Arsenal have made a £46.4 million offer for Real Madrid star Karim Benzema, reports the Metro.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger is confident of completing the deal, and expects the transfer to play out in a similar manner to Mesut Ozil’s move two summers ago. The Germany international was linked to the North Londoners throughout that transfer window before finally joining them on deadline day.
Arsenal looked in need of a new striker during their loss to West Ham on the opening weekend of the season. Olivier Giroud’s well-taken goal against Crystal Palace may have allayed some of those fears around the position, but the 28-year-old’s performance in the rest of the 90 minutes left something to be desired.
SEE MORE
Arsenal transfer news
£14.5m price tagged SLAPPED on Arsenal and Liverpool target
Smartest footballers: Former Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea stars in Premier League clever XI
Benzema’s 15 goals and 10 assists 29 La Liga appearances last season mark him out as the class of player Wenger needs if he is going to mount a Premier League title challenge. Combined, the stats are far superior to Giroud’s 14 goals and three assists in 27 top flight games during the last campaign, and he could be Arsenal’s answer to Chelsea’s Diego Costa and Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero if signed.