Emirates Stadium side ready to welcome in Barcelona star.
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Arsenal have agreed to meet Barcelona’s £32m valuation of attacker Alexis Sanchez and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger will look to welcome the Chilean international in a matter of days.
CaughtOffside understands that the north London club have already agreed personal terms with the 25 year old and the path appears clear to bring in the Nou Camp star with new manager Luis Enrique keen to complete a sale speedily as he looks to re-invest the funds into moves for fresh additions.
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Sanchez has other offers on the table but is said to be keen on a move to north London, feeling that he can secure regular first team action at the Emirates Stadium side.
Wenger had been tracking Sanchez for some weeks before the World Cup finals but has been further impressed by his displays in Brazil and is keen to land the attacker before other prospective suitors can be Arsenal to the punch.
The former Udinese had his most productive season at Barcelona to date, netting 19 goals in 27 La Liga starts in his third campaign at the Catalan club, but along with Pedro and Cristian Tello may be sold to help fund bids for fresh options in the final third with Neymar and Lionel Messi being safe from any such cull.
Arsene Wenger is also ready to sell German international Lukas Podolski this summer and the experienced forward is said to be preparing for a move back to the Bundesliga after a fairly average two year spell at Arsenal.
Though something of a fan favourite Podolski’s displays have been inconsistent and have led to a less prominent role in Joachim Low’s World Cup squad and there is apparent interest from Borussia Dortmund with Jurgen Klopp looking to further strenghten his front-line following his acquisition of Italian Ciro Immobile with top scorer Robert Lewandoski having moved to domestic rivals Bayern Munich.
Such a move would then leave Arsenal ready to assign his number nine shirt to Alexis Sanchez, who wears the number for Barcelona.
Wenger will primarily look to use Sanchez in a central striking role though has the option of playing the forward in a wide slot if necessary and it’s that versatility that has persuaded the French manager to meet Barcelona’s price-tag.
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