Arsenal Step Up Chase for Mario Balotelli with £25m Bid

Arsenal have reportedly stepped up their interest in AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli with a £25m bid, according to the Mirror.

Arsene Wenger's top priority this summer is to land a world class striker to compete for places and share the load with Olivier Giroud. Last season, the French international looked jaded at times as he had to shoulder all the responsibility of leading the line.

The Gunners boss has always been an admirer of the talented but temperamental Balotelli and has been linked with a move for him all summer. Sportswear giants Puma, who recently signed a lucrative kit deal with Arsenal and also have the Italian striker as one of their brand ambassadors, are keen on uniting the two.

The former Manchester City star is currently on World Cup duty and was Milan's top goal scorer last season. He finished with an impressive 14 goals and six assists in 30 league games.

However, new manager Filippo Inzaghi wants to offload the striker as Milan look to ease their money problems and reduce their wage bill.

The north London club could face competition in landing Balotelli this summer. The Express claims AS Monaco are also interested in the Milan forward and are willing to let Radamel Falcao leave in order to get their man.

Wenger is in Brazil working as a pundit for French television and reportedly so are Balotelli's representatives. Arsenal are surely stepping up in the transfer market as they have several players set to depart the club.

Meanwhile, Giroud has been talking about Arsenal's need for a striker. The Frenchman is confident that Arsenal will bring in a new striker and he is looking forward to the competition for places in the team.

"I can tell you Arsenal will add a striker to the team. We need another striker. Great clubs have several good strikers, who compete with each other," Giroud said, as quoted on Sky Sports.