Juventus agree personal terms with Gonzalo Higuain despite strong Arsenal interest

Arsene Wenger's striker search is set to take a turn for the worse with the club set to miss out on striker Gonzalo Higuain for the second time. The Frenchman was close to landing the Argentine forward in 2013 when he left Real Madrid, but couldn't agree a fee which saw him join Serie A side Napoli.

According to Goal, the former Real star has agreed personal terms with Juventus, but the Italian champions are yet to make a formal offer for the striker as it involves them meeting his €94m (£78m, $104m) release clause. The Turin club are said to be preparing a player-plus-cash deal which will involve midfielder Roberto Pereyra with Daniele Rugani also likely to be on the table.

Higuain, who scored 36 goals in 35 Serie A games last season, is said to have reportedly agreed a €7m-a-year deal, with Juventus officials expected to meet their Napoli counterparts to thrash out a deal in the coming weeks. It will be a big blow for the Gunners, who were said to be leading the race for the striker's signature with only his high valuation holding them back from making an official approach.

Wenger has seen his first and second choices slip away first with Jamie Vardy, who rejected an offer from Arsenal to sign a new deal with Leicester City, and then it was Alvaro Morata, who Real Madrid are keen to retain at the Santiago Bernabeu for the upcoming season with the Spaniard being the player Juventus are looking to replace.

However, Arsenal have been handed a slight boost following reports of a move being agreed after the Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis' son told reporters that the story was a 'hoax' as no deal has been agreed between the player and their Serie A rivals.

"It 'just a hoax, you must not believe everything," Edo De Laurentiis said, as quoted by tuttonapoli.net