Arsenal Ready To Make Formal Bid For Premier League Star

Arsenal are ready to formalise their interest in Leicester City attacker Riyad Mahrez with a concrete offer as Arsene Wenger looks to strengthen his squad this summer, according to the Metro.

Mahrez has been outstanding for Leicester this season and has played a key role in helping Claudio Ranieri’s men march towards a shock Premier League title with the Foxes currently five points clear at the top of the table.

The Algerian international has scored 16 goals and laid on 10 assists in his 35 appearances so far with his excellent displays seeing him rightly named on the six-man short list for the PFA Player of the Year.

It looks like Mahrez is also attracting interest from some of Europe’s most powerful clubs as the Metro are citing a report coming out of France that claims Arsenal have joined Barcelona and Real Madrid in the race for his signature this summer.

The newspaper suggests that Wenger is ready to step-up his interest in the 25-year-old and could table a formal offer with-in the next few weeks – presumably as soon as the season ends in mid-May.

Many fans feel the French boss should step-aside at the end of the season after a hugely frustrating campaign but I think that’s unlikely as Wenger has already hinted he’ll see-out the final year of his contract at the Emirates.

If that turns out to be the case, the only thing that’s going to pacify a growing number of disgruntled supporters is if Wenger can bring in a few top class signings this summer and Mahrez would certainly fit the bill nicely.

With Theo Walcott’s future in doubt following a disappointing season, Mahrez would be the idea replacement and I think he’d form a devastating attack alongside Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. If we could add a world class striker and centre-back to the mix, we would finally have a side capable of challenging for top honours again.

Leicester are going to be desperate to keep hold of Mahrez but Ranieri has already suggested they might struggle to keep hold of their best players this summer as despite their success on the pitch, they can’t compete with the wages on offer at clubs like Arsenal.