Exclusive: “From what I’m hearing” – Fabrizio Romano makes sense of Arsenal’s move for Benzema

It appears self-evident that Arsenal need to secure themselves a natural striker who knows where the goal is before the January transfer window closes for business.

The Gunners FA Cup loss to Liverpool can be attributed to the front men not being able to stick the ball in the back of the net despite a huge number of chances before the Reds pounced late in the game.

To that end, the Daily Mail noted that the North Londoners had joined the race to prise Karim Benzema from Al Ittihad, after news emerged that the Frenchman was unhappy with life in the Saudi Pro League.

His side currently find themselves in seventh position and a mammoth 25 points off leaders Al-Hilal.

Clearly, Benzema, a stalwart for Real Madrid, expected better and, much like Jordan Henderson, appears ready to cancel his contract in order to secure a move back to Europe.

However, it would seem that his club are willing to play hard ball.

“From what I’m hearing from the club side, Al-Ittihad have no intention to give any green light for Benzema to leave in January,” Fabrizio Romano said in his exclusive Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside.

“Let’s see what the situation is like in the next days and see what happens with Benzema.

“At the moment, guys, I’m not aware of any advanced deal or anything concrete with an English club – including with Arsenal, despite various rumours.”

Assuming that nothing changes over the next few days, as it’s believed that Benzema will have talks with his club, Arsenal will need to turn their attentions elsewhere.

With less than a fortnight to go until the end of the transfer window, they’ll need to work hard and fast to get any deals done and give themselves a fighting chance at the Premier League title.