ARSENAL CLOSE IN ON £25M BAYERN MUNICH PAIR AS ARSENE WENGER LOOKS TO STRENGTHEN SQUAD

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will look to complete his first major summer signing as he enters talks with Bayern Munich midfielder Luiz Gustavo having seen a £17m bid accepted by the Bundesliga title holders.

  The North London club are also looking to bring in Gustavo’s club and national team colleague Rafinha and has penciled in a £10m move for the adaptable 27 year old, who will help beef up Arsenal’s options on the right hand side of their defence, an area that Wenger is known to be keen on beefing up.

As yet Wenger’s only summer addition has come in the form of French Under 20 international Yaya Sanogo, who moved from Auxerre on a free transfer, and having seen efforts to bring in Liverpool striker Luis Suarez hit the buffers the French boss is keen to step-up efforts to bring in new additions, preferably ahead of the start of the Premier League season and certainly with a view to having in new signings sealed before the club’s crucial Champions League qualifier against Fenerbahce.

Arsenal will look to experienced defensively minded Luiz Gustavo to provide some much needed steel to the centre of their midfield, the lack of which last term left Mikel Arteta having to adopt a holding role, due chiefly to yet more injury concerns over Abou Diaby.

Gustavo has become very much a supporting player at Bayern Munich, with Spaniard Javi Martinez being the club’s first choice defensive midfield option. The arrival of Thiago Alcantara and Mario Gotze has further increased numbers in the central midfield area and as such the former Hoffenheim man is fearful of an even more limited role at the Bavarian club and with a World Cup on the horizon the battling utility player is keen to secure regular first team football.

Similarly Rafinha, who can play across the right hand side either as a full-back or in a more attacking position, is looking for a more prominent role and may feel that a move to Arsenal could help re-ignite a career that has stalled at Bayern Munich.

Last term Rafinha managed just six Bundesliga starts and Wenger will look to the the former Genoa and Schalke man to provide stiff opposition to Bacary Sagna, who is also now seen as a central defensive option, having impressed in this role during pre-season.

Wenger believes that whilst Carl Jenkinson has undoubted potential at 21 the England international is perhaps still to raw a performer, who last term made some rash decisions that perhaps showed the player’s lack of maturity.

Rafinha is comfortable on the ball and a player who very much fits the Wenger ethos and the Arsenal manager will hope to land the Brazilian pair in a deal worth €30m (£25m).

Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola has an expansive squad and having invested over £55m to bring in the aforementioned Alcantara and Gotze the Spanish boss may well be under pressure to balance the books and will perhaps feel that the sales of the pair would not unduly affect the overall strength in depth at the club.

SOURCE: http://www.caughtoffside.com