Arsenal Priced Out in Race for Real Madrid Winger Angel di Maria - Report

Arsenal have received a massive setback in the form of Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria with the Spanish club pricing him out of a move to the Emirates by slapping a £45m fee on the player, according to the Metro.

The Gunners are keen to add an attacking player into their ranks and had earmarked Di Maria as a potential target after securing Mesut Ozil for a record £42.5m fee last summer.

The Argentine has been in brilliant form for Madrid this season, scoring 11 goals and Arsene Wenger was prepared to pay up to £32m to secure his services at the Emirates.

This will come as a major blow for the north London club, who are looking to strengthen their squad in the summer and are looking at a winger to bring some pace to their line-up.

The absence of Theo Walcott played a major role in the Gunners' failure to maintain a title challenge. They lacked the thrust to go in behind the opposition and were forced to play at a pedestrian pace, which mitigated their title chances.

The Gunners have also been linked with moves for Barcelona stars Alexis Sanchez and Pedro and are likely to turn their attention to Madrid's rivals to strengthen their squad for next season.

Meanwhile, the Gunners are revelling in their FA Cup win over Hull City in the finals which ended a nine-year trophy drought at the Emirates.

Arsene Wenger praised Aaron Ramsey for his performance after the Welshman scored the winning goal for the Gunners. The 23-year-old was not named in the PFA Team of the Year and Wenger was dismissive of their choice after the glorious win.

"He was not in the team of the year in England, so don't tell me that. And he was also not in the writers' team of the year and I think he deserved to be in there. He popped up at the right time again today," Wenger told www.arsenal.com.