English Club Arsenal FC is reportedly preparing a massive £40.5 million offer to Real Madrid for the transfer of the Spanish team's striker Karim Benzema, as per Metro.
Manager Arsène Wenger was said to have long been interested in Benzema ever since he arrived at the Bernabéu in 2009 and had been waiting for the right time to bid for the France international.
Reports went out that an initial bid of £30.3 million was already rejected by Los Blancos. The Gunners tried again with a re-worked offer of £35.3 million, which Real have not responded to as of yet.
New speculations arose that Wenger is now ready to spend up to £40.5 million just to bring the 27-year-old Lyon native to the Emirates Stadium this upcoming season.
Meanwhile, Arsenal fans were left anticipating in turmoil for the transfer of Benzema to their side after the 6-foot-2 forward shared a cryptic photo of himself in his social media account on Wednesday. The photo showed the striker flying on a private jet with a caption written in French, which translates into "leave the past to the past. #directionfuture", via the Independent.
However, official reports have confirmed that the photo was outdated and that Benzema is currently with Real in Shanghai, China for offseason friendlies in the country.
The Gunners are looking to add another striker this summer, preferably Benzema, to help complement their resident goal scorer, fellow Frenchman Olivier Giroud, pick up their offense.
But it seems like all hope is lost as the summer transfer window is about to close and Rafa Benítez has not yet responded, and perhaps intending not to respond altogether, to Arsenal's latest offer.