Arsenal battle Chelsea in move for £9.7m Brazilian ENFORCER

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Emirates Stadium side look to beef up midfield options.

Arsenal will battle Chelsea and Man United in pursuit of Real Madrid midfielder Lucas Silva according to the Daily Star.

Arsene Wenger will look to the 22-year-old Brazilian to challenge Francis Coquelin, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini for a starting spot in his Arsenal XI.

Real Madrid signed Lucas Silva in January but he struggled to force his way into the Bernabeu starting eleven under Carlo Ancelotti and may not be part of Rafa Benitez’s plans.

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Chelsea’s need for a fresh defensive midfield option would appear to be less urgent than Arsenal’s with Jose Mourinho able to call-upon the likes of John Obi Mikel and Kurt Zouma as able back-up options to first choice starter Nemanja Matic.

Arsenal would do well to strengthen in the centre of the park as Wenger may not be able to rely upon Coquelin hitting the same level of form he reached in the second half of 2014/15, after the French utility man was ushered back to the club from his loan spell at Championship side Charlton Athletic.

Real Madrid paid Cruzeiro £9.7m for Lucas Silva and would presumably demand nothing less than that outlay for a player they only signed just over six months ago.

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