Arsenal Transfer News: Sergio Busquets Bid Reported, Robert Lewandowski Rumours

Arsenal have made a £24.4 million attempt to sign Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets, according to Spanish outlet Fichajes (h/t Jamie Sanderson of Metro).

Sport (h/t Telegraph Sport) suggested Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is "willing to meet the wage demands" of the World Cup winner who joined Barcelona a decade ago. Sanderson's report indicates, although Barca and Busquets share the desire for him to stay, Arsenal will increase their offer if the original bid is batted away.

Busquets has been a key part of Barca's success in recent years. Although not a headline-grabbing superstar like Lionel Messi, Neymar or Luis Suarez, his ability to keep possession ticking over allows the Catalan club's biggest names to excel by keeping the midfield balanced even when Barca attack.

Doug Benc/Associated Press

He is an expert distributor of the ball—completing 91.7 per cent of his passes in La Liga last season, recorded by WhoScored.com—and would fit in perfectly with Wenger's ambitious counter-attacking style. However, just like Messi, it's difficult to imagine Barca functioning quite so effectively without him in the team.

Wenger has only landed goalkeeper Petr Cech so far this transfer window, leaving Arsenal open to plenty of speculation. He has needed a world-class defensive midfielder and prolific striker over the last couple of years.

With Busquets currently filling the gossip pages for the former position, Metro (h/t Chisanga Malata of the Daily Star) reports Wenger is eyeing a move for Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski. This reiterates the suggestion that the Poland international is possibly being lined up as an alternative to Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, as tweeted by El Confidencial's Kike Marin on July 23:

Malata indicates £35 million is being put aside for Lewandowski, but the player's agent, Cezary Kucharski, doesn't expect a transfer to go ahead: "There must be a signal from the club, from Munich," he told Polish television. "There is no such signal so we are not thinking about it, because even thinking about a change of club would be unfair in my opinion to the current employers."

When asked whether Bayern fans have seen the best of him, Lewandowski also made it clear he's looking to keep impressing at the Allianz Arena: "I don't believe so," he told the German club's official website. "I can and will get even better this season, I'm certain of that."

B/R UK's Sam Tighe recently graded Arsenal's somewhat minimal spending so far:

Wenger's squad is crammed with quality, but it still appears to be missing one or two world-class players. Signing stars such as Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez over the last two years has highlighted the manager's desire to win trophies, but two FA Cup successes in as many seasons doesn't mask the Gunners' need to make a greater impression in the Premier League.

Busquets and Lewandowski would both be excellent captures for the club. Neither appears likely to exit his current side, though, so Wenger may need to offer extortionate terms or search elsewhere for the elusive final pieces to a puzzle that is nearly built.