Get me Benzema! Arsenal boss Wenger launches £27m bid for Real Madrid star

By Sami Mokbel for the Daily Mail and Alex Kay for the Daily Mail

Arsene Wenger will launch a £27million move for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema in an attempt to offset the likely loss of Arsenal stars Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

Fabregas is close to a £34m move to Barcelona while Sportsmail revealed on Wednesday that Manchester City believe they have clinched the £19m signing of Nasri, having already landed Gael Clichy from the Emirates for £7m.

On his way to Arsenal? Arsene Wenger has launched a bid to sign Real Madrid star Karim Benzema

Benzema is the man Wenger wants to help Arsenal forget about the pending departures of their midfield duo and he is willing to smash the club's transfer record to do it.

The Arsenal boss knows losing Fabregas and Nasri will have a detrimental effect on supporter morale, although he will make one last bid to keep Nasri with the offer of a £100,000-a-week contract.

In demand: Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring for France against England at Wembley last year

Arsenal are expected to announce the £10.7m signing of Lille striker Gervinho on Friday. The 24-year-old passed a medical on Wednesday but confirmation of the signing has been delayed by a small problem with paperwork. However, Wenger is still keen to sign another top-class forward to take the goalscoring burden off the injury prone Robin van Persie.

While Wenger recognises the goalscoring impact Benzema could have on the pitch, the Frenchman also hopes that signing his 24-year-old compatriot will prove to the club's current crop of stars that they can achieve their career ambitions with the Gunners.

Likely to leave: Arsenal stars Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri are on the verge of departures



Benzema was in and out of Jose Mourinho's team last season due to injuries and a lack of form. Real president Florentino Perez and his adviser Zinedine Zidane are keen for the France striker to stay in Spain. But Mourinho wants to offload Benzema to fund a move for Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero.

Fabregas hopes to complete his move to Barcelona by the end of Friday after making it clear to Wenger that he wants to return to the Catalan team.The clubs are still haggling over the finer details of the deal, with Barca keen to use Brazilian left back Maxwell as a makeweight.

Wenger wants Leighton Baines to replace Clichy but has balked at Everton's £15m price tag and Barca hope the inclusion of Maxwell, 29, in the deal will be enough to finally land Fabregas.



Making an offer: Arsene Wenger wants to bring top talent to Arsenal as he hunts for a first trophy since 2005



