ARSENE WENGER is putting together a £20million bid for Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o.
The Gunners boss has been given the nod to break the bank by the Arsenal board and move for the African striker as replacement for Thierry Henry.
Henry moved to the Spanish giants last week in a deal worth £16m, but Barca were not interested in a swap deal at the time because they value Eto'o at £30m.
However, Wenger feels that, with all that has gone on between Eto'o and Ronaldinho this season, the club are looking to get rid of their fiery star, which could see the asking price lowered.
Wenger had hoped to bring in a replacement for Henry with the money he got from his sale and Nicolas Anelka ticked all the boxes.
But Wenger fears that deal could be hijacked by Manchester United, so he has turned his focus on to Eto'o.
Bolton have admitted in private that they would not be able to turn down a £12m bid after buying Anelka for £8m only a year ago and this has alerted Sir Alex Ferguson to the possibility of signing 'Le Sulk'.
Wenger knows Anelka could well choose to sign for United ahead of Arsenal because he has already stated he would find it hard to turn down the reigning Premiership champions. One thing is for sure - Wenger wants to sign a big name to stabilise the team after Henry's departure.
Eto'o has been on Wenger's mind since January, having already described him as more important than Ronaldinho.
Eto'o has told Barcelona in private that he will leave the club, but only if the move is to London - and with Chelsea not looking to sign any more African players, Arsenal are in pole position.
That also sees Liverpool being snubbed after boss Rafa Benitez had shown interest.
The only real stumbling block could be if Eto'o wants a rise on his already huge wages of £120,000 a week.
Wenger's future has become uncertain since the departure of David Dein but a big name and newblood coming into Arsenal would surely see him stay.
