Arsenal will sign Real Madrid star Karim Benzema next week, according to respected journalist Emanuele Giulianelli.
This was after the reporter claimed that the player was on his way in a private jet to London to complete a deal, and while this rumour turned out to not be true, the former Lyon man still appears close to signing a deal.
La Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Giulianelli earlier tweeted:
Then added later:
Don’t find confirmations about Gulfstream flight (i wrote it was believed), but next week Benzema will be an Arsenal player.
— Emanuele Giulianelli (@EmaGiulianelli) August 22, 2015
The Gunners have had a £48 million bid for the 27-year-old accepted [talkSPORT], and could be set to sign the player in the near future. However, they will still have to fight off interest from Manchester United, who are monitoring the France international’s availability according to The Guardian.
Arsene Wenger is interested in the forward as he looks to challenge for the Premier League title [Standard]. Rivals Manchester City and Chelsea have Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa respectively up front, while the North Londoners have had to rely on Olivier Giroud in the position, and it’s easy to understand why they might be targeting Benzema.
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The 28-year-old managed 14 goals and three assists in 27 Premier League matches last season, which is far inferior to Benzema’s 15 goals and 10 assists in 29 La Liga games during the campaign. After a shaky start to the season in which the Gunners have lost to West Ham and scraped a win over Crystal Palace, the addition of the Champions League winner could be just what the North Londoners need to end their long wait for a league title.
If Arsenal end up missing out on the striker then they do have other options. PSG ace Edinson Cavani has been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium [Fichajes via Metro], as has Borussia Dortmund star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang [respected Spanish journalist Kike Marin].