Despite still being one of the top centre-forwards in Europe, it looks as though Real Madrid icon Karim Benzema is set to join Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad on a free transfer this summer.
A waste of a talented player? Perhaps, but it could also end up being bad news for Arsenal.
The reason for this is that Real Madrid will be on the hunt for a new centre-forward and Los Blancos have been heavily linked with a move for Gabriel Jesus over the last 12 months.
Reports last summer claimed that Real wanted to pursue the Brazilian international but were not able to due to rules regarding Spanish passports.
Spanish rules prevent more than three non-EU players in a team’s squad, with Madrid unable to pursue Jesus because they had his international teammates Eder Militao, Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr on their books. However, Vinicius has since qualified for a Spanish passport, meaning that this would not be an issue if they came back in for the South American.
It is also worth noting that at the time of Real’s interest in Jesus, Fabrizio Romano stated that: “Real Madrid and in particular Carlo Ancelotti are big fans of Gabriel Jesus.”
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