Arsenal have been handed some encouragement in their reported bids to sign Bayer Leverkusen duo Lars Bender and Karim Bellarabi after comments from a club official. Â
Arsenal have been heavily linked with moves for Bender and Bellarabi in the German press over the last six months.
26 year old Bender is Leverkusen’s club captain, but after Leverkusen chairman Michael Schade spoke to Goal.com, it became obvious that they would sell anyone for the right price.
“We try to find talents as early as possible, we try to develop them and then we are going to sell them for a high price,” Schade told Goal.
“We as Bayer Leverkusen can’t be as arrogant to say that we are creating world stars and they will retire here. If we are able to create a world star or international top player, then one day this player wants to play for one of the top [clubs in the world], of course. What we can do is develop him and make him as expensive as possible.”
These comments open the door for Arsenal to move for both targets in the January transfer window.
Bellarabi is a 25 year old winger who can also play anywhere across the front three. He has been capped 10 times for Germany following his rise to prominence over the last 18 months.
The need for Bender has been strengthened after it was revealed Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin would both miss the next three months of the season. That’s Arsenal’s starting central midfield duo, a big whole left in the eleven. Is Bender the person to fill the void? Have your say in the comments.
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