Arsenal Encouraged In January Pursuit of £40m Madrid Striker – Report

Arsenal have been encouraged in their pursuit of Karim Benzema with reports circulating in Spain that Real Madrid are unhappy with the striker's attitude.

El Confidencial are claiming that Carlo Ancelotti is unhappy with the way the 25 year old is acting off the pitch and despite his two goals this season the Madrid manager is open to the idea of selling him in January.

Arsenal were hot on the trail of Benzema during the summer, preparing a £40m bid for the star with Arsene Wenger making it clear he was looking for a big name striker to give his attacking line-up more depth, having failed to land Luis Suarez or Demba Ba before deadline day came to a close.

And after the closure of the transfer window Wenger has since admitted that he would have liked to bring more players in, with much of his reported £70m budget left over from the summer.

The Gunners were able to get a deal over the line for Mesut Ozil in the last hours of deadline day and Madrid have since reportedly sought to trash the Germany international's character by saying he is unprofessional and obsessed with partying and women.

Ozil has rubbished the claims, and the reports now circulating about Benzema would appear to be similar to those about his former teammate.

This opens the door for Arsenal to make a play for the man who scored 16 goals in 42 appearances for the Spanish giants last season. Madrid are reportedly considering making a play for Luis Suarez, who they hope still wants a move away from Liverpool, and if this goes through there will be even more reason to cash in on Benzema in the winter window.

The north London club could find that they can land him for less than initially thought as the Spanish press turn against the France international, who was left on the sidelines whilst on international duty against Belarus this week.