Man Utd out to spoil Arsenal's bid for Goetze

Manchester United could spoil Arsenal's pursuit of German playmaker Mario Goetze, according to reports in the British press.

United spent much of the summer in pursuit of Wesley Sneijder and Luka Modric as a replacement for retired legend Paul Scholes. Now they are targeting Goetze, who Arsenal are also tracking as a long-term replacement for Cesc Fabregas.

The 19-year-old has been a major target for the Gunners, with scout Steve Rowley a constant fixture at Borussia Dortmund, watching the player.

But United could come up with their own £20 million bid for the Borussia Dortmund man.

However, the German sensation has a price tag of £30 million which means Arsenal would have to break their current record transfer fee of £15 million for Russian forward Andrey Arshavin to land him during the January transfer window.

Arsene Wenger will use his side’s UEFA Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday to run the rule over Goetze before making a firm offer, with chief executive Ivan Gazidis and key negotiator Richard Law set to fly to Germany to register an interest with Dortmund later this week.

But speaking at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon ahead of Wednesday's Champions League group game against Dortmund, Wenger refused to discuss a move for the Germany international.

"We have a big squad and we are not after anybody," insisted the Frenchman.

"Goetze is a very good player. I can understand there is a lot of interest in him around Europe.

"On our side, I do not think this is the best time to talk about it.

"We play against Dortmund tomorrow and we must concentrate on the game, not transfers."

With the departures of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy over the summer, Wenger is said to have around £50 million to bolster his squad having endured his worst start to a season since the Frenchman arrived in North London 15 years ago, and Goetze is believed to be at the very top of his list.

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