Premier League side Arsenal is still keen on snagging Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and a potential Robert Lewandowski signing of the Bernabéu giants this summer could finally push through the English club's plans.
The 28-year-old French goalscorer had long been the apple of Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger's eyes and the Daily Star reported that the "interest is still there" for the 66-year-old mentor, who is entering into his 20th season as the manager of the club this August.
Benzema had been a key fixture in Los Blancos' performances through the years since he was acquired from Ligue 1 squad Lyon in the summer of 2009 for €41 million.
In seven seasons in Madrid, the 6-foot-2 Lyon, France native had scored 161 goals in a total of 317 appearances in all competitions for the capital city squad. Last term, he finished fifth in goalscoring behind superstars Luis Suárez (Barcelona), teammate Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), and Neymar (Barcelona) with an incredible 24 goals and seven assists in only 27 games as he battled various injuries.
With Real, Benzema had won the La Liga title once, the Champions League twice, the Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup once, the Copa del Rey twice, and the Supercopa de España once.
However, the Frenchman had recently been implicated in several off-pitch incidents that damaged his repute, which left him out of the France national team that is competing in the ongoing 2016 UEFA European Championship.
These off-field cases are also rumored to be the reason why Los Vikingos are searching for a new striker to partner with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in the middle front of their 4-3-3 formation.
Real head coach Zinedine Zidane is allegedly in the process of trying to lure Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski to Spain and the Polish star will "in all likelihood not make a decision on his club future until after the tournament (Euro 2016) ends", as per Caught Offside.
Lewandowski's Poland team was recently eliminated in the quarterfinals of the said tournament by Ronaldo's Portugal squad and so the two could potentially start talks about the former's possible move to Madrid this summer.
Benzema is said to be keen on staying at the Bernabéu no matter what happens, but if the deal pushes through, then Benzema would more likely see himself being released from the Merengues' roster.