Word out of North London is that Arsene Wenger is set to break the transfer record at Arsenal and sign Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuaín.

The only thing holding back the Arsenal manager from completing the deal is Madrid’s need to hire a manager. It’s been two weeks since they parted ways with Jose Mourinho and, from all accounts, it looks like Carlo Ancelotti is the man set to take over at the Bernabéu. The Italian manager has made it clear that he’s done with Paris Saint-Germain.

Wenger has everything in line to make the Higuaín deal happen. With his £70 million war chest and the blessing of Arsenal chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, who last week said the club could now snap up the very best players in the transfer market, Wenger may finally be ready to give Arsenal supporters what they want.

The pessimists, however, will be weary of Wenger as he continues to eye young, low-cost players like Auxerre’s Yaya Sanogo and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Sebastian Rode, who can easily be molded into the Arsenal mode.

From all accounts, however, Wenger is set to turn over a new leaf and bring in established players. In addition to Higuaín, Wenger is rumored to have his eye on Barcelona’s David Villa and Victor Valdez, Everton’s Marouane Fellaini and Swansea City’s Michu.

The signing of Higuaín should be completed as soon as Ancelotti is in place in Madrid. In an ideal world, Wenger will get the deal done in time to show off his new goods on the club’s pre-season tour of Asia, which begins July 11th.

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez values Higuaín at £25 million, a number that if paid by Wenger, would shatter Arsenal’s transfer record by £10 million.