Arsene Wenger eyes Bayern Munich star Mario Gotze
Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, is plotting a move to sign German World Cup winner, Mario Götze, report The Telegraph.
The incredibly talented 23-year old joined the German giants, Bayern Munich, only two years ago from Borussia Dortmund but could join the Gunners after he admitted that his relationship with manager, Pep Guardiola, wasn't the best one.
Everyone knows how much Arsene Wenger loves a quality attacking midfielder – in spite of the number of ones he already has – but getting Götze would be a real sign of intent that lets the world know that Arsenal mean business.
Speaking of his tenure at Munich, Götze said, “The last two years were definitely not very simple, we'll see what happens. It will work out if Guardiola talks to me more often. I'm going to let everything come to me. Anything beyond that, we'll see."
Wenger has openly admitted his admiration for the German youngster as long back as 2011 when he was still at Borussia Dortmund. "Götze is a very good player. I can understand there is a lot of interest in him around Europe," he said.
If Götze signs for Arsenal, he'll be amongst Europe's richest pool of midfielders – Mesut Özil, Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott.
Götze had another successful season at Bayern last year where he won the Bundesliga. He also scored 13 goals in 43 appearances for the club while setting up 55 chances for his teammates to finish.
"We are as open...as we were before"
Arsene Wenger is known to be chasing a bunch of players with the likes of Karim Benzema, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Julian Draxler and Real Madrid's Lucas Silva.
Speaking on transfer targets, Wenger said, "We are as open after that bad result [0-2 West Ham loss] as we were before. We were working very hard and we are focused to do what can strengthen our squad. The availability is not big."
Meanwhile, Arsenal have joined Liverpool in the race to sign Lazio sensation Keita Diao Balde, according to Corriere Dello Sport. The forward is valued at €15million and would provide some much-needed depth in the Arsenal striking department.