Christian Benteke hints at Arsenal move

Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke, who rescued the side from dire straits has been offered a bumper new deal at Aston Villa after scoring 23 goals in an impressive debut season. But the striker hinted that he is not keen on continuing at Villa park.

On Friday, SunSport revealed Benteke had put Europe’s big guns on alert after warning Villa that they could not make him stay for the remaining three years of his contract. Benteke cost Villa £7m in August.

Benteke said: “If Aston Villa say I must stay, I won’t necessarily accept that. I do not want to feel I didn’t get the most out of my career.

“There’s no point getting into a tug-of-war with Villa. If the chance comes for me to join a club like Arsenal, I’m convinced we can reach a compromise where everyone comes out a winner.”

Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs are also interested in the Belgian.

Villa boss Paul Lambert said: “He’s only 22, he’s got to remember that.

“He’s a kid starting out. Once you’ve played 500 games, then you might think ‘You’re right, you deserve it’.

“I don’t mind agents but sometimes you’ve got to have a reality check.”