Arsenal boss
Arsene Wenger is making a shock
£40 million move for Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery.
The Daily Star Sunday says Gunners boss Arsene Wenger
believes he is now close to pulling off one of the transfer coups
of the summer and winning the race to sign the Bayern Munich
winger.
Until the last couple of weeks Ribery, 26, was destined for one
of Europe's giants - with Man United, Barcelona and Real Madrid all
in the hunt.
But despite the huge interest and several offers of around £30m,
Bayern stubbornly refused to sell for anything less than £40m.
And that suddenly left Arsenal in pole position, even though
Wenger has long made it clear he cannot compete with his rivals
when it comes to buying the biggest names in the game.
Yet an offer of £30m - plus £10m-rated Danish hitman Nicklas
Bendtner to make up the difference - appears to have struck a chord
with new Bayern coach Louis van Gaal.
A source close to Arsenal's top brass confirmed: "Ribery was on
the agenda at a recent board meeting - and it could even be a done
deal by now. We're very optimistic."