Arsenal Transfer News: Gunners Reportedly Open to €40M Bid for Karim Benzema

Arsenal have reportedly reignited their long-term interest in Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema and are prepared to shell out €40 million (£35 million) to sign the Frenchman.

According to Diario Gol (via Goal), Los Blancos skipper Sergio Ramos has told club president Florentino Perez to sell Benzema as he has not enjoyed a good campaign, but the Real chief wants €80 million (£69.5 million) for the striker.

If that is the case then Arsenal's pursuit of Benzema will surely not go far as the Gunners have spent more than £100 million on strikers in the last year.

They paid £46.5 million to sign Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon last summer and then £56 million for Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January.

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Both have largely impressed, particularly the latter, who has netted six goals in eight Premier League appearances so far in his Arsenal career.

Lacazette, 26, has been a little inconsistent but still has 11 goals for the 2017-18 league campaign and has shown enough flashes of excellence to convince he could yet be a star for Arsenal.

Given that, it is slightly odd Arsenal are even being linked with another forward, although Benzema was on the Gunners' radar as long as five years ago, as reported by David Hytner in the Guardian.

And at £35 million, a relatively cheap price in the current market for a player of Benzema's quality and experience, he could be worth the money.

However, the France international will be 31 before the end of the year and has started to look as though he may be past his best.

He has only netted five times in 27 appearances in La Liga in 2017-18 and would arguably add little to the Arsenal squad that manager Arsene Wenger doesn't already have at his disposal.