Arsenal are poised to make a £28 million bid for Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke as manager Arsene Wenger looks to bolster his forward line in January, according to the Daily Mail. Even though Theo Walcott is on his way back from injury - the forward came off the bench to play 20 minutes against Southampton after a two-month layoff on Saturday - Wenger still admits he needs a new striker. The Gunners chief has been linked with a myriad of potential signings up front over the past few months, including Real Madrid's former star Gonzalo Higuain and also Karim Benzema. The Frenchman has also been tipped with a move for Liverpool's Luis Suarez - whom he bid over £40 million for this summer, while Benteke remains a strong possibility. The 22-year-old struck 19 Premier League goals during his debut campaign in the topflight in 2012/13 to impress, and put a host of suitors on red alert after putting in a transfer request in July this year. Arsenal and their London rivals Tottenham were interested at the time but the request was ultimately withdrawn and the Belgian international instead performed a dramatic U-turn by signing a new deal at Villa Park. That deal ties Benteke to Villa until 2017. However, Wenger may try again in the New Year as he looks to ease the goal-scoring burden of Oliver Giroud. Giroud is presently the Londoner's only fit senior striker with Lukas Podolski still out injured, and a bid of £28 million could be enough to land Benteke.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
