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Gonzalo Higuain to Arsenal: Gunners lodge £29.4m offer for striker but Napoli set to hold out for €50m

Arsenal missed out on Higuain in 2013 when he left Real Madrid but reports in Italy suggest another offer has been made

Jack de Menezes
Friday 05 June 2015 12:17 BST
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Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain
Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain

Arsenal have made a £29.4m bid for Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain according to reports in Italy, but the Serie A club are determined to hold out for a fee closer to 50m euros.

Arsenal were in the running for Higuain in the summer of 2013 when they looked set to land the Argentinian striker for around £34m from Real Madrid, only for Napoli to come steaming in and offer the Spanish club nearly £10m more than what the Gunners were willing to pay.

Higuain subsequently chose to move to Italy and faced Arsenal in the Champions League group stage that season, where he scored against the north London side in their 2-0 victory only for Napoli to miss out on reaching the last 16 by two goals.

However, Napoli’s defeat to Lazio on the final day of the Serie A season has cost them a place in the Champions League next term, and that could see the 27-year-old seek a move elsewhere.

Italian newspaper Gazetta dello Sport claims that Arsenal have lodged an official bid for the striker close to the £30m mark, but suggest that it will be rejected as the club want £36.7m if they are to allow him to leave this summer.

Higuain scored against Arsenal in 2013

Arsenal already have options in attack in the form of Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott, while Danny Welbeck will return from injury ahead of the start of the new season. However, the belief is that Arsenal were lacking a world class goalscorers this season that could have helped them challenge Chelsea for the Premier League title, and despite remaining coy on his transfer targets this summer, the reports suggest manager Arsene Wenger is willing to move for another striker.

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