Exclusive: Arsenal to Launch Club Record £45m Bid for Attacker as Arsene Wenger Begins Summer Spending

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Emirates Stadium boss wants to convert attacking midfielder into forward.

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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is sizing up a big money move for Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus as he seeks to strengthen his Gunners attack.

CaughtOffside understands that Wenger has been tracking the 25 year old German international for the best part of a year and has been given the backing of his Emirates Stadium money-men to make a club record £45m (€55m) bid for the former Borussia Monchengladbach star.

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Reus is traditionally used in an attacking midfield or wide-attacking role but has an eye for goal and is a player Wenger believes can be converted into a forward who can play alongside, or behind, a central striker.

There is no denying that the Westfalenstadion man can be lethal in front of goal and has the creativity to unlock defences, Reus has scored 42 goals in 90 appearances since Jurgen Klopp signed him two years ago, and Wenger feels the time is right to make an offer for the diminutive flair player.

Prior to his arrival Borussia Dortmund had won back to back Bundesliga titles but have since fallen further and further behind domestic rivals Bayern Munich and Reus will have looked on in dismay as both Mario Goetze and Robert Lewandowski opted to run down their contracts before moving to the Allianz Arena.

Speculation is rife that rock solid centre-back Mats Hummels will also leave this summer and Reus could a move to Arsenal a viable option.

Reus could find extra motivation for a move to the north London club coming in the form of the presence of national team colleagues Per Mertesacker, Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski.

Wenger had previously target German youngster Julian Draxler, who was similarly touted as a player who could be pushed into a more attacking role, but the Arsenal boss is reticent about forking out £35m-£40m for a 20 year old and has instead opted to turn his attention to Reus.

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