German international and long-term Arsenal target Lars Bender looks likely to depart Bayer Leverkusen in the near future and manager Arsene Wenger may well be tempted to make a move for the player, whom he has scouted on numerous occasions.
Several other Leverkusen stars have departed the club for the Barclays Premier League in recent years such as Andre Schurrle and Heung-Min Son and now, James Benge reporting for the Evening Standard, claims that the German side is bracing itself for bids for the 26-year-old.
Leverkusen manager Michael Schade argues that although his side is very good at scouting young talent and turning them into world-class players, he has very little power in terms of keeping them at the club for the long-term and is more focused on making a solid profit from them.
We try to find talents as early as possible, we try to develop them and then we are going to sell them for a high price.
We as Bayer Leverkusen can’t be as arrogant to say that we are creating world stars and they will retire here. If we are able to create a world star or international top player, then one day this player wants to play for one of the top [clubs in the world], of course. What we can do is develop him and make him as expensive as possible.
Unfortunately for the Gunners, Bender underwent ankle surgery which will see him miss the rest of the calendar year and so should they be serious about their search for a backup to the injured Francis Coquelin, then they may well have to look elsewhere for the time being.
