Arsenal are favourites to land Chelsea striker target Karim Benzema in the January transfer window, according to the bookmakers at least. SkyBet make the Gunners 2/1 to bring the French international forward to north London before February 1st, with French giants PSG next on the list at 14/1.
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The Blues are even further back at 16/1 in the market, suggesting a switch to west London isn’t on the cards for the Real Madrid striker.
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Arsenal have been linked with a move for the player for several months, with reports back in October claiming the La Liga outfit were bracing themselves for a £42million bid for the player from an ‘unnamed’ Premier League club. That price subsequently dropped to £22m the following month.
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Whether the initial claims were referencing the Gunners is up for debate, but Arsene Wenger was linked with a move for Benzema again in November, with a Spanish journalist claiming the Frenchman was ‘obsessed’ with his compatriot.
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With Arsenal challenging for the title and only two senior strikers on the books at the Emirates Stadium, adding another player in the position makes sense this month, and the bookies believe it could be Benzema make the capital switch.
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Chelsea’s pursuit of the player appears to be dead however, having fallen well of the pace in the market.
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The Blues are also in title contention, despite their strikers mis-firing at Stamford Bridge for much of the season. Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto’o have all struggled to make the sole forward position their own under Jose Mourinho.
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And, whilst various strikers have been linked with a move to Chelsea, it appears that Benzema isn’t the man for ‘the special one’.
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