Argentine set to make Emirates Stadium move.
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Arsenal are thought to have won the race to sign Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain in a £21m deal.
CaughtOffside understands that the North London club have moved into pole position to snap up the Argentine after Juventus seemingly pulled out of moves to capture the Argentine international.
Arsene Wenger met with Higuain’s father, who also acts as the forward’s agent, last week and after a positive discussion it seems that the Arsenal manager is close to completing a deal to bring in the talented Bernabeu marksman.
Re-elected Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has publicly stated that Higuain would leave the club this summer after seven seasons at the Spanish giants and a myriad of interested parties had been whittled down to just two, Arsenal and Turin side Juventus. Now that field is down to one.
Higuain struggled to retain a regular spot in Jose Mourinho’s starting eleven, with the Portuguese boss more often than not selecting Karim Benzema as his striking option. However the former River Plate man has still managed to score regularly when called upon.
The 25 year old has scored 106 goals in 188 La Liga appearances, of which 58 were from the bench, and Higuain has racked up a total of 122 goals in all competitions.
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis hinted at ongoing talks with an ‘unknown’ target during an Arsenal Supporters Trust meeting last night, during which he stated that moves for prospective additions were held up due to discussions with club’s who were without a manager. Real Madrid of course being just one such club.
Arsenal are set to pay €25m (£21m) for Higuain, a club record fee but still seemingly a very reasonable fee for an experienced international with his pedigree.
Wenger is keen to strengthen his attack but still sees French forward Olivier Giroud as a player who can deliver the goods and is set to make room for attacking additions by offloading a number of supporting forwards who offer little to cover Arsenal’s first team needs.
Nicklas Bendtner, Marouane Chamakh, Park Chu-Young as well as Ivory Coast international Gervinho are all said to be set for the Emirates Stadium exit as Wenger looks to trim his playing staff.