LONDON, October 2-Arsenal are reportedly preparing a £55 million bid for Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani, despite new arrival Danny Welbeck scoring a hat-trick on Wednesday.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger relied almost exclusively on Olivier Giroud up front last season, but the Frenchman suffered a broken left tibia at the start of the new campaign and has been ruled out until 2015 after undergoing surgery.
That development saw Wenger swoop for Welbeck, who joined for £16m from Manchester United, and the England international looks to be finding his feet at the Emirates after firing home a treble against Galatasaray in the Champions League this week.
However, the north London giants are still believed to be keen on strengthening their striking options even further, with current back-up frontman Yaya Sanogo still looking some way off from a finished product, and Theo Walcott not yet ready to return from injury.
The Gunners’ focus is now thought to have shifted to Cavani, who is strongly believed to have become disillusioned with life at Parc des Princes, where he has been forced to play out of position on the wing to accommodate star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Further adding to the claims of a potential deal is the fact the once financially frugal Wenger has loosened his purse strings considerably over the past two years, having signed Mesut Ozil for a club-record £42.5m last term, while this year he splashed over £90m on new talent, including Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers.
PSG could also be open to selling Cavani, with the club eager to recoup some of the £50m they spent on David Luiz in August to avoid any further Financial Fair Play sanctions.