Lars Bender to Arsenal: Arsene Wenger lining up £18m bid for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder

Wenger has had a long-standing interest in the player

James Orr
Sunday 14 June 2015 14:25 BST
Comments
Lars Bender has been linked with a move to Arsenal
Lars Bender has been linked with a move to Arsenal (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender is an £18m summer target for Arsenal, according to reports.

Gunners manager Arsene Wenger's interest in the German midfielder goes back to 2013, and The Sun have reported that the deal will be revived this summer.

Arsenal's reported No 1 midfield transfer priority, Morgan Schneiderlin, looks set to move to Manchester United from Southampton.

Bender could compete with Francis Coquelin for the holding midfield berth for the Gunners.

The 26-year-old Bender, who has made 19 appearances for the German national side, has also been linked with Liverpool. Bender could join up with fellow German internationals Per Mertesacker and Mesut Ozil at Arsenal, while Lukas Podolski is still on the club's books too.

Arsenal have also been linked with moves for midfielders Victor Wanyama from Southampton and Geoffrey Kondogbia from Monaco in this transfer window.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in