Arsenal Make £30m Bid to Land Alexis Sanchez From Barcelona

Arsenal have reportedly submitted a bid in the region of £30m for Barcelona's Alexis Sanchez, according to the Express.

The Chilean has been in a transfer tussle between the top European clubs all through the summer. However, it looks like the Gunners have taken a step to get ahead of the chasing pack and bring the forward to the Emirates.

Arsene Wenger is a big admirer of the player and feels the winger can be converted into an out and out striker. The north London club have made acquiring a striker a priority this summer to aid Olivier Giroud and help shoulder the responsibilities in the attacking department.

It is also claimed that Arsenal are willing to pay Sanchez a salary of £130,000-a-week, which is a massive improvement on his current salary which is around £75,000-a-week. It is also believed that the north Londoners are offering him a hefty signing on fee and that the offer they have in place will allow them to land their man ahead of the other suitors which include Manchester United and Juventus.

According to Goal.com, Wenger is set to meet with Sanchez's agents in Brazil where the former is working as a pundit for French television. The Chilean's performance in the World Cup has made him the Frenchman's number one target this summer.

Meanwhile, this news will be a big blow for Liverpool, who were also interested in the former Udinese forward. With Barcelona pursuing Luis Suarez and an official bid imminent, the Reds were hoping to get Sanchez as part of any deal that would take the Uruguayan to Camp Nou.

However, it looks like the Chilean does not want to be part of the Suarez deal and it is believed that he prefers a move to north London over Merseyside.

Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta did confirm earlier in the week that they had received bids for Sanchez, but is not sure how things will end, although they are open to the idea of the Chilean departing for pastures new.

Arsenal will hope that their bid will be accepted as they are pretty confident they can tempt Sanchez into making the Emirates his new home.