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Arsene Wenger is ready to carry on his summer spending spree with ‎a move for Germany midfielder Lars Bender.

Arsenal boss Wenger is closing in on £35million worth of deals for Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez and Newcastle full-back Mathieu Debuchy.

But he also wants a holding midfielder, and the Gunners have gone back to their first choice in that position and want to do a deal for Bender.

The Londoners have tracked the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder, 25, for more than a year and are hoping to now get their man for £15m.

Leverkusen are reluctant to sell but Arsenal are hoping they can lure him with a big contract and the offer of Champions League football.

Wenger has also looked at Southampton's Morgan Schneiderlin, Real Madrid's Sami Khedira as well as Bender's twin brother and fellow Germany international Sven, of Borussia Dortmund, as potential midfield signings.

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But a deal with Leverkusen for Lars Bender would be their top choice as they seek to provide their defence with more protection - something that was an issue last season.

It would be a huge coup on top of the anticipated arrival of Sanchez, who is understood to be ready to move to Arsenal after discussions with his representatives.

Liverpool and Juventus remain keen on him, as a deal has yet to be finalised, but the Gunners believe it is now a matter of settling on a fee with personal terms agreed.

Arsenal have also negotiated a £10m deal with Newcastle for Debuchy,who is set to replace his France international rival Bacary Sagna as Wenger's first choice right-back.

They also want a back-up keeper to replace Swansea signing Lukasz Fabianski, but won't pay relegated Cardiff £10m for David Marshall so ‎have looked again at Espanyol's Kiko Casilla. The 27-year-old Spaniard was on their radar last summer.