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Arsenal Open Talks For Bundesliga Midfielder But Liverpool Also Keen

By on June 21, 2015

According to the International Business Times, Arsenal have opened talks with Borussia Dortmund over the signing of Sven Bender but will face competition from Liverpool.

Bender and his brother Lars have both been linked with a move to the Premier League in recent transfer windows with Arsenal touted as potential suitors for both midfielders.

We had reports last month suggesting we were in for Lars but today the IBT are quoting German publication Bild who claim that we’ve opened talks with Borussia Dortmund over a deal for Sven.

The outlet states that new Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel may be prepared to let Bender leave as he looks to reshape the squad he inherited from Jurgen Klopp and it could pave the way for Bender to make the move to Arsenal.

We’ve apparently made it clear that the 26-year-old would get a big increase on his current €3m-per-season salary but we’ll face stiff competition from Liverpool, with Brendan Rodgers also keen on signing the German international.

Bender’s career has stalled somewhat in recent seasons and a mixture of form and fitness issues meant he only made 14 league starts for Dortmund last season, so the player could be open to a new challenge.

With Arteta expected to step into a player-coaching role, and Flamini and Diaby set to leave this summer, Arsene Wenger is almost certain to bring in another holding midfielder and Bender has joined a long list of names who’ve been linked with Arsenal in recent weeks.

It looks like we’re set to lose out on Geoffrey Kondogbia – who’s expected to move to Italy – so Morgan Schneiderlin remains my preferred target. However, if we can’t agree a deal with Southampton for the Frenchman, then Bender would be a decent alternative.

A fee in the region of £15m should be enough to tempt Dortmund into a sale, and if that’s the case he’ll be cheaper than Schneiderlin with the Saints reportedly holding out for around £25m, so Arsene will have more funds to strengthen elsewhere.

I’d still rather we went all-out for Schneiderlin but we know how the boss likes to look after the pennies, so a deal for Bender may appeal.

We’ll have to wait and see what Arsene decides, but I still hope and expect us to sign Schneiderlin in the end.

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