It’s widely rumoured that Arsenal failed in an attempt to sign Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi in late August, but reports suggest that Arsenal could return with another offer in January.

Gazzettaworld are reporting that Inter Milan refused a £30m offer from Arsenal for their 22-year-old Argentinian club captain Mauro Icardi in the summer transfer window, but that they are expecting Arsenal to return with another offer in January.

Despite not having a great season so far for Internazionale (four goals and one assist in 12 appearances), Icardi is highly rated after clinching the top scorer award in Serie A last season alongside Luca Toni. And with Inter currently top of Serie A, it’s unlikely that they would entertain a mid-season offer for their captain unless it was truly astronomical.

A summer move however could make a lot more sense for both clubs – especially with Arsenal focused on signing a new midfielder in January (and we all know that transfer multi-tasking is not Arsenal’s strong suit).

Arsenal are regularly linked with a move for Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema who was having a fantastic season for Real Madrid before his blackmail legal troubles began. But at five years his junior, and having scored 45 goals in 101 Serie A appearances so far, Icardi could definitely be an alternative option for Arsenal. Both players would likely be on a par with the fee paid for Özil, but both could also fill the striker role that Arsenal have needed to be filled for a number of years. Good forwards are hard to come by so if either player becomes available, Arsenal definitely won’t be the only club in for their signature.

Ironically, Real Madrid have been linked with Icardi as a replacement for Benzema. So come next summer (if he’s not in prison) we could well see a scenario where Benzema finally joins Arsenal because of Icardi joining Real Madrid.