Arsenal Planning to Offer Loan Deal for Karim Benzema: Report

In a fresh turn of events, Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema is rumoured to end up joining Arsenal during the January transfer window. The Gunners are reportedly interested in roping Benzema. As per TEAMtalk, the London giants are considering a mega loan deal for the French striker. The report goes on to claim that Arsenal’s city-rivals Chelsea have also discussed a move for the former Real Madrid goal scorer. Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus’ injury issues have bothered Arsenal. English striker Eddie Nketiah has indeed done an impressive job in the Arsenal jersey in Jesus’ absence, but Mikel Arteta’s desire to find a prolific goal-scoring option is known to all.

Mikel Arteta, however, had stated earlier this month that Arsenal’s chances of signing a new striker in the winter transfer window did not seem much ‘realistic.’

“At the moment it does not look realistic (that Arsenal will sign a striker). What my job is, and what we have to do is improve our players and try to get better results with the players we have,” Mikel Arteta told beIN Sports.

Mikel Arteta’s comments came after Arsenal crashed out of the FA Cup in the third round with a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool. Despite registering 18 shots, Arsenal could not find the back of the net even once in that fixture against the Merseyside-based side. The loss to Liverpool marked Arsenal’s third defeat in a row. Overall, Arsenal have been winless in their last four matches across all competitions.

In the Premier League standings, Arsenal right now find themselves at the fourth spot. Arsenal are five points behind the current table toppers Liverpool.

As far as Karim Benzema is concerned, there were reports that the French international is not enjoying a fruitful outing at Al Ittihad. A Marca report had previously claimed that Benzema did not show up for the resumption of the Al Ittihad season. As a result, Al Ittihad manager Marcelo Gallardo reportedly decided that Benzema would not be a part of the traveling squad to Dubai.

Karim Benzema’s rumoured troublesome relationship with Al Ittihad manager has resulted in the striker being linked with several other clubs. Having joined the Saudi club in July last year, the 36-year-old has found the back of the net 15 times.