Transfer Speculation

Arsenal are on the verge of hijacking Manchester United's attempts to land Lyon striker Karim Benzema.

United, with money to burn following their sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, were thought to be in pole position to sign the France international, something that now looks to be challenged by the Gunners and Real.

According to the News of the World newspaper, the Emirates Stadium hierachy are busy preparing a substantial £30million bid for the 21-yearold.

The bulk of the transfer fee would come from the sale of Emmanuel Adebayor to Serie A giants, a move that looks increasingly likely to happen sooner rather than later.

However, Arsenal boss, a known admirer of the Lyon ace, will have to fend off an approach from Primera Liga moneybags Real after the Spanish outfit also expressed an interest in landing Benzema.

The latest revelations come in the wake of Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas' statement that despite Benzema's apparent desire to stay at Stade Gerland, a sizeable offer could lead to him leaving.

"Karim has said that he wants to stay another year at Lyon," Aulas told L'Equipe.

"But I think that Kaka or Ronaldo maybe imagined remaining with their respective clubs.

"There is a tsunami called Real Madrid which provokes reactions at Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.

"So it is very complicated to say that he is non-transferable. It's obvious we want to keep him.

"There is more chance he'll be at Lyon next season than that he won't be.

"I won't hide from you the fact that he has been approached. For the moment, I managed to convince them not to go further."

Benzema has come through the ranks at Lyon and burst onto the scene in the 2007-08 season with 31 goals in 51 games, a streak that saw him named Ligue 1 player of the year as well as top the league's scoring charts.

This campaign was less impressive for both club and player, as Lyon ended the season without the Ligue 1 title for the first time in eight years, but the France forward nevertheless scored 23 goals in all competitions - an average of a goal every other game.