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Arsenal Remain In Hunt For £21m-Rated Star Despite Man Utd Interest
According to reports today, Arsenal remain in the hunt to sign midfielder Lars Bender this summer despite interest from rivals Manchester United.
Arsene Wenger is a fan of the German international’s and we were strongly linked with a move for the 26-year-old last summer.
The rumours have quietened down in recent months as we’ve switched focus to other targets as the boss looks to bring in another deep-lying midfielder this summer with the futures of Arteta, Diaby and Flamini in doubt.
However, the Metro claim that Arsenal are still showing a keen interest in signing Bender this summer and could battle it out with Manchester United for his signature.
The Red Devils are also on the look out for a holding midfielder and Bender has reportedly emerged as a key target for Louis van Gaal.
Who knows how much truth there is behind these reports but Bender is an excellent player and was in fine form once again for Bayer Leverkusen last season, so he could be an interesting option.
The Metro seem to think it will take a bid of at least £21m to persuade Leverkusen to sell, but at that price I’d personally prefer we go for Morgan Schneiderlin or Geoffrey Kondogbia.
The problem is, United are also being linked with those two, so it seems we’re going to have to battle the Old Trafford club for all our midfield targets this summer.