Arsenal Open Transfer Spend with £18m Bid for Antoine Griezmann

Arsenal have made a £18m bid for Real Sociedad winger Antoine Griezmann, according to the Metro.

Arsene Wenger is a huge fan of the player and has been tracking his progress over the past couple of seasons.

However, the interest has reportedly been turned into an official bid from the Gunners, with the north London club testing waters with an initial approach.

Griezmann has been in brilliant form this season, scoring 16 goals and has been a real threat from the left flank. Arsenal are looking for a fast winger to terrorise defences, which they have not been able to do this season owing to the absence of Walcott with a knee injury.

Juventus are reportedly interested in the forward but the player would rather complete a move to the Premier League than ply his trade in Italy.

The Frenchman has been called up to the national squad for the World owing to his performances and the Gunners are trying to get the deal done sooner to alleviate any further interest after the tournament.

Griezmann may be joined by Carlos Vela at the Emirates after the Gunners reportedly decided to activate his buy-back clause worth £3.3m.

The Mexican has formed a good understanding with Griezmann during his time at Sociedad and will be a good backup for Olivier Giroud who has been run to the ground owing to the lack of support in the Gunners' line-up.

Meanwhile, Philip Lahm believes that Mesut Ozil will be devastating for the Gunners next season if Arsene Wenger can find the right striker.

"Anybody who has played with Mesut will tell you how intelligent he is as a player. His vision is probably the best I have ever seen and that is why it is so important to have the right striker ahead of him," Lahm told Goal.com.

"He is a dream for strikers and you saw that with [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Karim] Benzema when he was at Madrid. If Arsenal can find the right striker who is fast and makes intelligent runs - then Mesut will be devastating next season," he added.