Florentino Perez blocked the transfer
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema was ready and prepared to complete a move to Arsenal this summer, before president Florentino Perez intervened and prevented the move.
The Gunners made Benzema their number-one transfer target over the summer, with Arsene Wenger a huge admirer of the striker since his Lyon days.
For Wenger, it was either sign Benzema or sign no-one at all, and at one stage it looked like he was close to getting the Frenchman, with the striker keen on the move.
According to reports, Benzema was ready to leave the Bernabeu for the Emirates Stadium in order to experience a new challenge.
Move Blocked
However, Madrid president Perez was not prepared to sell the striker and blocked the move from going through.
Arsenal were dealt a hammer blow when Benzema posted an image of him on his Twitter account confirming that he will be staying put in Spain.
As expected, it left Arsenal and Wenger empty-handed as they failed to land any outfield player throughout the summer.
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Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
