Arsenal Plan January Bid for £20m-Rated La Liga Winger- Report

Arsenal are planning a bid for Real Sociedad winger Antoine Griezmann ahead of the January transfer window, according to the Metro.

The report states that the Arsene Wenger has earmarked the need for a genuine wide man so as to provide competition to the squad and the Sociedad player has emerged as the prime candidate for that position. The Gunners are also in the market for a striker and is looking at a possible bid for Dimitar Berbatov in January to help them tide over a six-month period in their quest for the Premier League title.

The 22-year-old is among the most talented players in the Sociedad ranks and is expected to be available for a fee in the range of £20m. The winger is a long-term target for Wenger and with money to spend now, the Frenchman is willing to splash the cash on targets he was not able to consider a couple of years back. The La Liga club are unwilling to sell him in January but concede that they may not have a choice if a club comes in with the necessary funds.

"We want to keep him for as long as possible. But we have a battle to convince him to stay - we know clubs are interested in him," a club source told Marca.

The Gunners are currently top of the table and have an important clash against Manchester City in the weekend at the Etihad stadium. A win there will cement their position at the top and open up a nine point lead over City. However, a loss will give Chelsea the opportunity to close Arsenal's lead down to two points and make life difficult for the Gunners. The north London club lost to Napoli in their final group game in the Champions League and will have to face the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain to reach the quarterfinals.