Karim Benzema is a contender to move in the final days of the window. The 36-year-old joined Al-Ittihad in the summer after an incredible spell with Real Madrid.
Of course, most Arsenal fans must have thought that his days of being linked with a Premier League move were finally over. There was a time midway through his spell at the Bernabeu where he seemed to be on the verge of heading to England in every single window.
Karim Benzema not expected to sign for Arsenal
But news that he could leave the Saudi Pro League led to speculation that he could finally make that switch to these shores. And unsurprisingly, Mikel Arteta’s men are in the mix to secure his signature, it seems.
Benzema Arsenal
Arsenal have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Benzema. But speaking on Ranks FC, Dean Jones suggested that he is pretty confident in backing this move not to happen.
He said: “I’ll start by addressing Arsenal shall I? Do you remember when I said Arsenal were never going to sign Nicolas Pepe for £72m?
“Now, the backlash from that one still scars to this day.
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“I remember that I had spoken to another Arsenal reporter and he’d been telling me about [him]. I remember them saying it would be a stretch to pay that for him, so I was like there’s no way they’re going to pay £72m.
“Since that day, I’ve never repeated those words with any Arsenal transfer. I’ve refused to write off anything.
“Here I am, I’m going to do it again, Karim Benzema, not happening.
“I spoke to someone the other day at Arsenal just to check this one, and he said, what are his wages? And so if this bloke’s asking me what his wages are then this one can’t be very far down the road.
“Can’t see it unless they’re going to take a massive hit, so Arsenal clearly weren’t actually looking into this transfer.”
Never say never in the transfer window, but…
Ultimately, Benzema is going to command huge wages, even if he did not cost a massive sum initially. So it would be a move clubs would have reservations about – despite his incredible career.
Arsenal fans would love to see the club sign a prolific goalscorer as they battle for the Premier League title once again.
But it seems that their days of deviating from their strategy and signing ageing players are largely behind them.
Benzema is probably still amongst the best strikers in the world. And if Arsenal had endless funds to spend, they would probably be very tempted by the opportunity.
But you can understand why Jones is open to the idea of writing the move altogether as things stand.
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