Arsenal have reportedly already sent a £36m bid for Real Madrid striker, Karim Benzema. The Gunners have been in pursuit of the Frenchman for a long time now and are desperate to find a replacement for Alexis Sanchez.
Benzema arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 from French club Lyon and has so far registered 186 goals in 385 appearances. However, with 81 caps for the national team, he was dropped from the national squad ahead of the 2016 Euro Cup with charges of blackmail and has been indefinitely suspended from playing for the France national team.
Sanchez is most probably headed out of the Emirates in January and Arsene Wenger is scavenging for quality talents to take his spot. Benzema had been on his radar in past also but the transfer rumours never materialised with the 30-year-old opting to stay in Florentino Perez’s club.
However, in recent times the tide has shifted. Benzema is no longer the lethal threat that he once was hitting most of his shots wide from goal. The frustrations of the Galactico fans boiled over after he missed two clear-cut chances against rivals Barcelona on the weekend.
The problem cannot be pegged to any one particular reason – be it the stagnation he might feel after spending 8 years at a club or playing second fiddle to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo for so long. Whatever it might be, Perez might just be ready to get rid of an ineffective limb and sign a young replacement in the summer.
Arsenal’s current campaign has not improved from last season with the side falling to the 6th spot of the league table 3 points behind rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The club expects a top 4 finish, however, the absence of Sanchez and Mesut Ozil might hinder those chances in the second half of the season.
The current attacking lineup mostly consists of the summer signing Alexandre Lacazette, Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck. The addition of Benzema might just force any one of these players out of the club.
Although the former Lyon player has appeared as a make-shift winger for Madrid on multiple occasions it has mostly been because of Ronaldo who likes to drift into the number 9 role. His primary skills do not fit the bills of a traditional winger or that of a playmaker. Even with the versatility, he does possess it is a mystery as to how Wenger will fit him into the current Arsenal lineup.
