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Ammon News - BEIRUT: Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is contemplating an audacious 30 million pound ($46 million) bid for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, according to reports in the British press.

The north London club have been frantically searching for a new center-forward throughout the summer window, with the Gunners already seeing two bids for Liverpool striker Luiz Suarez rebuffed.

Their persistent pursuit of the volatile Uruguayan frontman seems to have hit a roadblock, with Liverpool refusing to budge on their stance that the striker is not for sale.

And after weeks of futile attempts to land Suarez, Wenger is believed to have finally turned his attentions elsewhere, with Frenchman Benzema now his preferred option.

Arsenal’s second bid of 40 million and 1 pounds was intended to trigger a clause in Suarez’s contract, so as to allow the London-club to enter into talks with Merseyside star.

And with Liverpool vehemently maintaining that it would take a fee upward of 50 million pounds for them to even consider selling their prized asset, Arsenal will now look to Benzema as they scramble to bag a marquee signing before the window shuts at the end of the month.

With a reported purse kit of 70 million pounds to spend, Wenger is desperate to land a striker in order to appease Arsenal’s infamously fickle fan base, said to be growing increasingly restless with the club’s inactivity.

Benzema, who is under contract with the La Liga giants until 2015, is said to be looking for a fresh challenge, having spent the past four seasons in the Spanish capital, where he has netted 87 goals in 183 appearances for Los Blancos.

And with Real believed to be open to offers in the region of 30 million pounds for the 25-year-old, Wenger has now urged his board to move quickly for the former Lyon player, with the Premier League season due to kick off in less than two weeks.

Arsenal are in dire need of attacking reinforcements, with French player Olivier Giroud currently the only striker on their books. The 26-year-old, who moved to the English capital from Montpellier for 10 million pounds last season, endured a hit-and-miss start to his Arsenal career, with Wenger still unconvinced of the Frenchman’s abilities.

Meanwhile, ineffectual Ivorian Gervinho has been offloaded to Roma, while another Ligue 1 export, Maroune Chamakh is thought to be nearing a move to Premier League new boys Crystal Palace.