Arsenal plan surprise swap for Real Madrid player

Arsenal are prepared to offer star performer Alexis Sanchez to Real Madrid in a deal which could see Karim Benzema join the club this summer.

The Chile international is said to demand wages in excess of £250,000-a-week, and this is something the Gunners are unwilling to match given their shrewd wage policy.

According to The Express, the 'Benzema to Arsenal' rumours appear to have made their rounds amid the uncertainty over the future of Sanchez.

Sanchez is approaching the final year of his Gunners contract, and there is a sense that the club will cash in on his services rather than losing him for nothing in June 2018.

Benzema has been long linked with a switch to the Emirates, and Arsenal are understood to be willing to offer Sanchez in a straight-exchange deal in order to lure the France international to north London in the summer.

The former Lyon man has never established himself among the Los Blancos faithful, and there could be a possibility of him leaving the Bernabeu with Florentino Perez on the search for a younger replacement.