Arsenal Prepare £40m Swoop for Lukaku as Replacement for Olivier Giroud - Report

Arsenal have joined Everton and Tottenham in the race for Romelu Lukaku, according to the Daily Mail.

The Everton striker, who is on-loan from Chelsea, has been a revelation for the Toffees this season, scoring 14 goals in the league and was a massive influence when the Merseyside club defeated Arsenal 3-0 at the Goodison to make themselves favourites to take the top four spot ahead of the Gunners.

However, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is willing to sell the player to the highest bidder as the presence of three big clubs has raised the price to up to £40m for the Belgian.

The Portuguese manager is looking to use the money to complete a deal with Atletico Madrid for Diego Costa, who has had a brilliant season with the Spanish club thus far.

Atletico are now favourites to win the La Liga and are only two steps away from winning the Champions League, a remarkable achievement for a club with its financial constraints.

Arsenal are in the market for a striker to replace Olivier Giroud, who according to the Metro, has fallen out of Arsene Wenger's plans and is likely to be sold in the summer.

The Frenchman is the highest scorer for Arsenal this season with 19 goals, which could have been much more if not for his profligacy.

The lack of a quality striker has affected Arsenal through the length of the season and Wenger is ready to sell Giroud to make way for players who are more prolific in their goal scoring.

The Gunners have been linked with moves for Mario Mandzukic and Josip Drmic in the summer, and are likely to be in the market for more than one player to feature in attack. Nicklas Bendtner is also set to make his way out of the club which will leave Arsenal with eonly Yaya Sanogo up front. With the new Puma deal set to come into fruition next season, Wenger will have the money to strengthen his squad and put in a real challenge for the title next season.