Arsenal director Lord Harris said Arsene Wenger can, and probably will, make a club record bid in order to complete a marquee signing this summer, and it looks like Marco Reus is going to be that man.

Karim Benzema has been the one to be linked with a move to Arsenal all summer, with Wenger waiting on the transfer in the hope that something will change towards the end of the window.

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However, if it does become clear that Benzema will not be leaving the Bernabeu in this summer transfer window, then Wenger will be forced to look elsewhere, and that elsewhere looks like being Borussia Dortmund and Reus.

Reus was linked with a move to the Premier League last summer, with several clubs looking for his signature, only for the Germany international to sign a new contract. The likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona have also shown an interest, but following the new contract, it seemed like the 26-year-old would stay in Dortmund for the foreseeable future.

That feeling only heightened when the representatives of Reus insisted their client would remain a Borussia Dortmund player for the new season.

"We read the rumours that are circulating about an alleged transfer for Marco," Sport Total Agency, who represent Reus, said in a statement to TuttoJuve. "We can say with certainty that the player is having a wonderful time at Dortmund.

"While he is flattered by the interest of many European teams, he has decided to stay in Dortmund."

That should have nipped any possible transfer news in the bud, but according to Sport Bild, Arsenal are ready to make a €68million (£48m) bid in order to ink the gifted forward's signature.

As good as Reus is, what Arsenal require at the moment is a central striker, just to ease that "I need to score a lot of goals to convince everyone" burden off Olivier Giroud.

However, there is little doubt that Reus is the kind of player who will give a huge boost to any squad, and if the Germany international moves to the Emirates, it could very well be the final title-winning puzzle, because he is that good.

However, convincing Borussia Dortmund to sell, even for such a high fee, will be difficult, and if Arsenal do manage to do that, they are then likely to face competition from the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and other Premier League clubs.