Arsenal May Lose Their Striker Target As Atletico Madrid Come Calling

Aston Villa sensation Christian Benteke has already hinted to move out of his club in the summer when he suggested that “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.”

And this statement of his has set the top clubs across Europe in an alert. Reports suggest that Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs were already interested in the Belgian, with Arsenal looking the most favourable. Even Benteke stated that “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.”

So what it means to the Gunners? Definitely a welcome move that the fans would love to see it happen. Benteke can be as good as any big money signing that Arsenal are linked with and have certainly proved himself as a prolific Premier league striker over the past 12 months. The practically unknown player till a year ago scored 23 goals in his debut season for Aston Villa, the club that introduced him to English football, which is quite a feat to achieve.

But now reports have emerged that Spanish club Atletico Madrid also want Benteke as they search for a replacement of Falcao, who is set to move to Ligue 1 side Monaco in a £50m deal. Atletico had earlier considered Liverpool’s Luis Suarez and Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez for the role but coach Diego Simeone insists on Benteke being the man as they can swoop him in at a much lower price.

Now if Atletico comes calling, what will the youngster do? For starters he has already expressed his desire to leave for a big club and if Atletico show real interest in the forward ahead of Arsenal, it is highly unlikely that he will chose Arsenal before them. For a youngster who has just played a year in top flight football, moving to the La Liga would have both positives and negatives in it as the league has emerged as a very competitive league in recent years and a place for stars to flock. There have been many instances in recent past where players have snubbed offers from other top clubs in Europe to make a move to Spain.

If Benteke decides to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors, it will be a heart breaking moment for the Gunners fan, more so because their other targets like Higuain and Jovetic are also rumoured to be heading other directions.

A lot of drama is yet to unfold and one hopes that the tug of war between clubs for the signature of Benteke will only intensify with time.

Will it happen? 6/10 – Benteke might not be first choice as Atletico Madrid will first try to lure big names like Luis Suarez on board, but without Arsenal showing any intend there is nothing that will happen.