Football: WENGER SIGHTS SET ON STUTTGART ACE GOMEZ

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, May 11, 2008 | by STEVE STAMMERS

ARSENAL are set to make a pounds 10million swoop for Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez.

Gomez - born in Germany to a Spanish father and German mother - is seen as one of the rising stars in the Bundesliga and has scored 38 goals in 87 games for his club.

Although he could be selected by Spain, Gomez opted to play for the country of his birth and has already been capped nine times, scoring on six occasions.

At 22, he is the perfect age for recruitment by Arsenal manager Wenger, who prefers to mould players into his way of playing rather than spend big on top players who can be set in his ways.

"We don't buy superstars," Wenger said earlier this season. "We make them."

Gomez certainly has potential and would be the perfect addition to the Gunners' current strike force of Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner.

And, with Adebayor demanding a contract review this summer, Gomez could emerge as an exciting replacement for the team's leading marksman.

Wenger is also anxious to bolster his defence and has his sights set on Valencia central defender Raul Albiol, who would cost about pounds 7m.

The Spaniard has excelled for Valencia in what has been a difficult season for the club and he was checked out last week.

Cardiff's exciting 17-year-old Aaron Ramsey is also on the Arsenal boss's wish-list.

Wenger admitted ahead of his side's final Premier League game at Sunderland this afternoon that he has a number of targets and he is confident deals will be done before the end of the month.

He said: "I know the players I want and I am confident I can get them."