Emirates Stadium side ready to splash the cash in pursuit of major honours.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is being linked with two big money moves to help boost his side’s title winning hopes.
The Daily Star claim that the North London club will battle Man City in the race to lure Borussia Dortmund attacker Marco Reus to the Premier League.
The 24 year old has been in outstanding form since moving to Westfalenstadion 18 months ago and apparently both Arsenal and Man City are readying moves that would trigger the forward’s £34m release clause. Reus was key in Jurgen Klopp’s side’s run to the Champions League final and the former Borussia Monchengladbach man has netted an impressive 26 goals in 58 appearances.
Marco Reus could be seen as an ideal ‘support’ striker who could offer a fresh dimension to the Gunners attack. Arsene Wenger is now very reliant on in-form French forward Olivier Giroud, especially as the Arsenal manager sees both Theo Walcott and Lukas Podolski more as wide options.
Reus is very much a ‘Wenger-style’ player; comfortable on the ball, able to fill various roles from attacking midfield to winger to orthodox striker.
Having spent a club record £42m to bring in German international Mesut Ozil the Arsenal faithful would perhaps see the possibility of a successful bid for Reus as not entirely implausible.
The Sunday Mirror believe that Arsenal will fight Chelsea in the battle to sign Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, who is now said to be available for a cut-price fee of £17m, a fee that Wenger would surely be willing to fork out to land the long term Gunners target.
Benzema has become something of a target for the Bernabeu ‘boo-boys’ and now Carlo Ancelotti appears ready to sell the 25 year old, perhaps with a view to using any funds from the sale of the former Lyon man to help put towards a possible replacement.
The French international scored in both his opening two La Liga fixtures but has followed that up with six blanks amid growing competition from youngster Alvaro Morata.
Having seen Gonzalo Higuain leave for Napoli one would have thought that Benzema would ‘up his game’ knowing he was Real Madrid’s only effective senior out and out striking option but that has not proven the case and a move to Arsenal may well tempt the powerful forward.
Benzema has scored 91 goals in 193 appearances since moving to Real Madrid in July 2009.