Arsene Wenger has moved to deny reports that he is looking to bring Karim Benzema to Arsenal from Real Madrid this summer, according to the London Evening Standard.
The Frenchman spoke to the press after his side’s win over Chelsea in yesterday’s Community Shield clash at Wembley, and seemed to make it pretty clear that the Gunners are not after the 27-year-old forward, or perhaps any new attacking players at all.
Benzema has consistently been one of the best strikers in the world down the years, scoring 133 goals in 281 games for the Spanish giants since moving to the Bernabeu from Lyon.
Arsenal only have Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott up front at the moment, but Wenger has strongly hinted that he is satisfied with these players as options going into the new season.
Asked about a move for the France international, he said: “No, honestly, no. I don’t know who brings that up.
“I felt today I wanted Theo’s pace to go in behind. In the first half he worked hard, huge effort, in the second half Giroud gave us a physical presence we needed.”
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It remains to be seen if fans will be happy with this mentality, as Giroud and Welbeck did not exactly hit top form last season, scoring only 26 times between them, while Walcott missed large chunks of the season through injury, as he did the previous year.
AS claimed over the weekend that Arsenal were setting aside around £45m to bid for Benzema, and it could be that Wenger is being typically secretive over the deal as he does not want to risk raising expectations or weakening his club’s position in negotiations.