Karim
Benzema remains the striker Arsene Wenger would most like to sign for
Arsenal but the club has no expectation of being able to bring him to
The Emirates this summer as Real Madrid will not offer any encouragement
for a bid.
Wenger
tried to sign Benzema in 2013, when the striker was their primary
target before they were offered Mesut Ozil but failed then.
And
it is understood that Benzema, 27, is one of President Florentino
Perez’s favourite players and therefore extremely unlikely to be sold.
Real Madrid
manager Rafa Benitez would only countenance his sale if an equivalent
standard striker, such as Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero, could be
signed and that isn’t on Real’s agenda at present.
Arsenal
have not ruled out the possibility of bringing in a striker to
supplement their squad in the five weeks of the transfer window but
given that Benzema is not available their assessment is that there are
very few strikers of that quality around.
Wenger has
ruled out a move for Gonzalo Higuain, who wants to leave Napoli.
Likewise, Wenger had the opportunity to sign the striker in 2013 and
turned it down and is unlikely to change his mind now.
It
is more likely that Wenger will use Theo Walcott at centre forward to
supplement Olivier Giroud. Alexis Sanchez’s success at the coming in
from the left and scoring means that he will primarily play in that
position but if Danny Welbeck’s knee injury doesn’t improve, Wenger have
had to re-think his transfer strategy once the season is underway.
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