Arsenal representatives are travelling to Spain to negotiate a deal for Real Madrid star Karim Benzema, according to respected journalist Emanuele Giulianelli.
The Gunners are ready to offer around €50 million for the 27-year-old, who scored 22 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions last season. The meeting is apparently to simply sort out payment terms, which would insinuate that a deal is close to actually happening.
Arsenal mission tomorrow in Madrid to close the deal for Benzema. Offer will be around €50mln.
— Emanuele Giulianelli (@EmaGiulianelli) August 6, 2015
Benzema himself asked Real Madrid to join Arsenal. The meeting of tomorrow is to agree the payment terms.
— Emanuele Giulianelli (@EmaGiulianelli) August 6, 2015
The North London side are in need of a new forward if they are going to challenge Chelsea and Manchester City for the Premier League title. Both of their rivals have a world class striker in Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa, but Arsene Wenger currently has to rely on either Olivier Giroud or Theo Walcott to spearhead his attack.
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Arsenal have already brought in Petr Cech this summer, which they will hope will sort out any defensive frailties that were evident in the last campaign. If they are able to sign Benzema it could help the other end of the pitch, and also bring another player with the experience of winning titles in to the dressing room. That could be priceless if the title race gets close come April and May.