Yesterday, the Daily Mail published a story on the Karim Benzema to Arsenal move becoming possible if the north London club were to break their club record transfer fee for him. Now, La Liga insider and journalist Graham Hunter has backed the claim.
Graham Hunter joined the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show on talkSPORT today and gave the latest updates on the Karim Benzema situation.
“Arsenal have the money and Real Madrid need the money,” he said.
“They are 500million euros in global debt, they are trying to buy David de Gea and won’t go the extra mile to get him off Manchester United because of the cash, so they need the money.
“And because Rafa Benitez will play 4-2-3-1 there is one less place for an attacking player than there was last season.” It is a doable deal, but it won’t happen unless Benzema says to Real Madrid: ‘I want to go to Arsenal’.”
If true it would hand a big boost to Arsenal who reportedly have the 27-year-old striker as their top priority this summer.
But it might not be as straightforward as it seems. While Arsenal are a club on the up, one would wonder if they would be enough to sway Benzema away from Real Madrid. With the Euros coming up, it would be a major change for the Frenchman, and struggling to adapt to the English league could potentially cost him a starter spot for France in the Euros.
However, if Rafael Benitez were to shunt him out of first team plans, then Karim would be eager to move elsewhere to keep playing first team football and secure his spot for the national team.
Arsenal fans will be hoping for this deal to come through, as a signing of this calibre could help bolster the Gunners’ forward line and reinforce them in their challenge for the title this season.
