Arsenal Ready to Make Record Breaking Move for £22.5m Real Madrid Striker Karim Benzema

Emirates boss hopes to lure Bernabeu star to North London.

Arsenal are ready to make a significant bid for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema this summer as Arsene Wenger looks to improve his side’s striking options. The French international has long been a target of the North London club and the Gunners boss will hope that the lure of regular first team football may tempt the former Lyon striker.

The 23 year old Bernabeu star is very much a back up player and though he initially failed to make the most of his run in the first team, that came as a result of long term injury to Argentine Gonzalo Higuain, a run of good form has led to the Real Madrid man netting 22 goals this season.

However Jose Mourinho has made it abundantly clear that he will be looking to refresh his attacking options with a move to sign another striker which will in turn leave Benzema once again warming the bench and could lead to the powerful forward looking to leave the Spanish giants.

Arsenal have had to rely heavily on Robin Van Persie for firepower over the past couple of seasons and injury concerns plague the Dutch international who has missed more games than he has started during his seven years at the club. New signing Marouane Chamakh started the season brightly but has looked well off the pace since Christmas and back up alternatives Nicklas Bendtner and Carlos Vela are tipped to leave the club at the end of the season.

Whilst Arsene Wenger is known for being something of a spendthrift after six seasons without tangible success or silverware, the Frenchman is ready to make big name moves to help appease the star players he has at the club who are looking for a statement of intent in the form of established star signings this summer.

Real Madrid be looking for at least €25m (£22.5m) for Benzema and whilst that would represent a trasnfer record fee for Arsenal it is still some way below the €41m paid to Lyon for the young striker just under two years ago and a seemingly fair fee for a player of his age and potential.

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Ferguson ready to end German hoodoo

Sir Alex Ferguson insists Manchester United are ready to end their run of Champions League exits at the hands of German clubs, as the Premier League leaders prepare to face Schalke in this season's semi-final first leg on Tuesday.

Ferguson's side have suffered knockout defeats against Bayern Munich (twice), Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen in recent memory - with the latter two both ending United's Champions League dream at the semi-final stage, in 1997 and 2002 respectively.

Most recently, Bayern knocked United out of last season's competition en route to the final, triumphing on away goals after winning 2-1 in Munich and losing 3-2 at Old Trafford.

United do, of course, also have fond memories of facing German opposition having beaten Bayern in dramatic circumstances in the 1999 final, while they also defeated Wolfsburg home and away last season.

And Ferguson believes United are fully equipped to exorcise their German knockout demons when they line up against Ralf Ragnick's Schalke at Veltins Arena on Tuesday.

"We've not had a great record against Bayern from the 99 season. We drew twice in the group stages and beat them in the final," Ferguson said.

"We were very unlucky against Leverkusen, we should have seen them off and we were very unlucky against Dortmund but you can't always be unlucky and sometimes it'll change for you. The German teams have always had that resilience and determination about them and that will be exactly the same on Tuesday night.

"We're going into this game with far more experience than we have in previous years and our record away from home in the last few years has been terrific."

Schalke's line will be led by three-time European Cup winner Raul, who recently revealed that United were interested in his services when his time at Real Madrid was drawing to a close last summer.

And Ferguson confirmed that he had considered signing the veteran Spain striker, who is the Champions Laague's all-time leading scorer in the Champions League with 71 goals.

"We spoke to his agent or his agent spoke to us and we were a little bit tempted because you said to yourself 'He's not too old that he can't score a goal in the Premier League," Ferguson said.

"His time at Real had come to an end after a fantastic career but players like that always find something in terms of ambition, they don't just wither away, and at his age he had plenty to do, plenty to offer.

"It would have been [a Henrik Larsson-type signing]. You get opportunities with experience like that like we did with Michael Owen and Michael Owen has been a fantastic professional here. They bring value to the team, bring experience and I think if I didn't have Michael Owen I might have been tempted.

"Raul is Raul and you've got to be careful in the last third of the field because he's still got the intelligence and a fantastic goal record. It's 71 in the Champions League? Bloody hell, I hope it stays that way for the next three weeks."

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Sir Alex Ferguson talks to BBC! Manchester United boss ready for a peace summit with Corporation

Sir Alex Ferguson and BBC director-general Mark Thompson have agreed to a meeting to discuss the Manchester United manager's six-year snub of the Corporation. The summit has been brokered by Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards in his attempt to get Ferguson talking to the BBC again and so avoid the need for the League to take action over Sir Alex's continued breaching of their media regulations. Turning over a new leaf? Sir Alex Ferguson's ban of talking to the BBC could be coming to an end The level of the fines for Ferguson was decided during a League board meeting last October, but Manchester United will not be informed until Richards has exhausted all avenues in ending Fergie's silence prompted by his massive displeasure over a BBC3 documentary in 2004 about his football agent son Jason. Getting Ferguson and Thompson in thesame room is a sign of progress, although a date for this notableoccasion has yet to be fixed. The expectation is that it will takeplace near or at the end of the football season. Building bridges: BBC director-general Mark Thompson will meet with Ferguson at a yet-to-be-agreed date Ferguson has maintained from the start of the marathon stand-off that he wants an apology from the director-general. The BBC insist, equally strongly, thathe won't receive one. Certainly the much-criticised Richards deservescredit, for once, if an unlikely compromise can be reached. Recent form: Ferguson chose to ignore his media requirements with the BBC following United's 3-1 defeat to Liverpool The ridiculous five-month delay in breaking the news to Old Trafford about the size of the Ferguson fines has irritated rival clubs and reinforced the impression that there is one rule for United and another for the other 19 teams in the division. The low-key BBC programme at the heart of the dispute concentrated on Jason's dealings as an agent with United but revealed little that wasn't in the public domain. Ferguson has never taken legal action over the contents.  Ferguson slammed for undermining Respect campaign over ref rantCharles Sale: John Terry breaks with firefighter PR as he bids to clean up act on his ownAll the latest Manchester United news, features and opinion  Explore more:People: Alex Ferguson, Mark Thompson

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Williams ready for duo

 Gary Speed's Wales welcome old rivals England to the Millennium Stadium for an eagerly-anticipated Euro 2012 qualifier looking to upset the odds against Fabio Capello's troops.

Swansea defender Williams, who captained Wales in their last two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland, is looking forward to pitting his wits against England's array of stars. Manchester United star Rooney and Liverpool hit-man Carroll are expected to lead the attack for England, meaning Williams will have the task of snuffing out their threat if Wales are to cause a shock against England.

"I have played against Carroll before when he was at Newcastle and he is a right handful," Williams told skysports.com. "I have never played against Wayne Rooney, but everyone knows about the quality of Wayne Rooney and those two will be a big danger for us on Saturday. "I will look forward to coming up against them as you always want to play against the best players. Hopefully we can keep them quiet by doing a job on them and that will only help our chances of getting a good result."

Williams admits Saturday's showdown will be the biggest game of his career as he prepares to play in front of a packed house at the Millennium Stadium. "It will definitely be the biggest game of my career so far and I think it will be the same for a lot of the players in our squad," added Williams.

"There is no pressure on us as England are expected to win. We have nothing to lose and we will be giving it a right go to get a win. I have never played at a full Millennium Stadium and I am sure it will be a great atmosphere. I have seen the atmosphere there for rugby games and I am excited about playing in front of such a big crowd and hopefully they can spur on us. Hopefully we can put on a performance and get a bit of pride back after a disappointing start to our qualifying campaign."

Williams believes Wales possess the players that can hurt England with Speed having most of his top stars available after they missed last month's defeat to Republic of Ireland. "The mood in the camp is good," added Williams. "The manager has changed a few things and we are quite happy with how things are going.

"For the first time in a long time we have got our best players available like Bale, Bellamy, Ramsey and Ledley and with a fully-fit squad we can be a match for anyone on our day."

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Kuyt ready to sign Reds deal

 Kuyt still has two years to run on his current contract, but he is poised to agree an extension. The Holland international believes the future is bright for Liverpool and he wants to be a part of it. "Liverpool is a club that should be playing for trophies and I guarantee that will happen soon," said Kuyt.

"With Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll arriving, we have become stronger and I have a strong suspicion that the club will reinforce again in the summer. This helps my belief that we will be playing for trophies again next season. I want to stay because the club is showing ambition, the team is getting stronger and my family and I absolutely love it here. I hope I will sign my contract very soon."

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