Arsenal are waiting to hear if a €30 million bid for Angel Di Maria has been accepted as Real Madrid refuse to sanction any outgoings until Gareth Bale’s signing has been confirmed.
The
Gunners tabled a formal offer for Di Maria after securing qualification
for the group stages of the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Madrid indicated during a week of discussions with Arsenal that they are willing to off-load the Argentine winger as they prepare to trim costs and free up space in the team for Bale.
But the bid has not yet been accepted and the Londoners will not be
given the green light to hold personal talks with Di Maria until Real’s
€100m world-record signing of Bale is finally secured.
Arsenal will have to persuade the 25-year-old Argentina winger to cut
his ties with the Spanish giants and also see off competition for his
signature from Galatasaray.
Di Maria’s public stance is that he wants to fight for his place in
Carlo Ancelotti’s team although his position might change when Bale
arrives.
Speaking to the Spanish press after setting up the winning goal for
Karim Benzema in Monday’s 1-0 win at Granada, Di Maria said: "I
understand the club are strengthening and they are precise in what they
do. But I signed a contract until 2018 a year ago and my desire is to
stay in the Bernabeu.”
Ultimately, Arsenal’s chances of capturing the player may depend upon
Real’s desire to raise more money from sales, in which case they may
encourage one of their attacking players to leave.
With Isco and Mesut Ozil both starting the new season in the team and
taking up two of the three positions behind the centre-forward, Di
Maria looks the odd man out for the Spaniards.
One player who is unlikely to swap the Bernabeu for Emirates Stadium
is Benzema, who was also the subject of an enquiry from Arsenal last
week.
As reported by Goal, Real chiefs told the Londoners they will not
sell the French striker unless they first secure a replacement and, with
only five days of the window remaining, the chain of transfers is
seemingly too complex for Arsene Wenger to land him.
However, the move for Di Maria is now quite advanced and Wenger has also not given up hope of signing a marquee striker, with an audacious bid expected imminently for Wayne Rooney.
Chelsea have abandoned their pursuit of the Manchester United forward
as they close in on the signing of Samuel Eto’o but Arsenal have
privately been encouragement that the Premier League champions could be
willing to sell them Rooney.
Wenger has not spend a penny on transfer fees this summer, with Yaya
Sanogo and ex-Gunner Mathieu Flamini both free signings. Flamini signed a
two-year, £50,000-a-week contract after reaching an agreement with the
club following a final round of talks on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Aaron Ramsey is struggling to be fit for Arsenal's marquee Premier League clash against Tottenham on Sunday.
The midfielder, who has begun the new season in outstanding form,
picked up a groin injury on Tuesday night, when he scored both goals in
his team's 2-0 second-leg Champions League win over Fenerbahce, and is
doubtful for the weekend visit of Spurs.
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