Arsenal ‘Encouraged’ Over £40m Benzema Deal After Making Contact With Madrid

By Gooner Mac  Published: 22nd August 2013

With the summer transfer window in full swing, there is plenty of gossip doing the rounds in the newspapers so we’ll keep you up-to-date with the latest transfer rumours. Today, Arsenal move for Karim Benzema.

Arsenal have been encouraged that a £40m deal for Karim Benzema could be on the cards after making an enquiry to Real Madrid over the strikers availability, according to the Telegraph.

We’ve already failed with bids for Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez this summer while any potential move for Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney appears highly unlikely, and it seems Arsene Wenger has now turned his attention to Benzema as he looks to bring in a top name striker before the window closes.

The boss has been a relative by-stander so far this summer after only bringing in the free signing of Yaya Sanogo, but that appears set to change with the Frenchman stating after Wednesday nights 3-0 win over Fenerbache that his transfer window starts now while also confirming that any deal for Suarez is dead:

“Absolutely no chance of that [signing Suarez],” he said. “It is true that one bid for a striker did not work. That took a long time. We have to wake up from that now. I’m confident.

“The transfer market starts for me now and a lot of activity will happen between now and Sept 2. It is like a poker game. People hold their cards as long as possible. In the end, they go for decisions.” Wenger told the Telegraph

The Telegraph claim that Arsenal made contact with Madrid earlier this week to enquire over Benzema’s availability and were given encouragement that a potential £40m deal could be agreed as the Spaniard’s are desperate to raise money to fund their world record move for Gareth Bale.

On the face of it, it seems highly unlikely that Madrid would sell Benzema having already sold Gonzalo Higuain, but the newspaper suggests that Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is ready to play Cristiano Ronaldo through the middle with Gareth Bale on the left and Angel Di Maria or Isco on the right, while highly-rated young striker Alvaro Mortata is also seen as being ready to make the step up next season.

The report also suggests that Benzema will be keen for assurances over his starting spot ahead of next summers World Cup and he may not be too happy to find out Ancelotti is planning on playing Ronaldo through the middle once Bale arrives, so a move to north London may not be out of the question.

Wenger has been a long-term admirer of the 25-year-old’s and I’m sure he’d jump at the chance to bring him to the Emirates. It seems we could be in for a busy final few days of the transfer window and the signing of Benzema would certainly be an excellent start to Arsenal’s business.