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Wenger planning summer spending spree

Edin Dzeko, Mario Mandzukic, Diego Costa and Jackson Martinez are all top of Arsene Wenger's shopping list as Arsenal look to boost their firepower for the new season.

While Wenger will resume his bid for Schalke midfielder Julian Draxler, as well as Dortmund right-back Lukasz Piszczek, the Frenchman has identified several strikers who he believes will provide the perfect partner for Olivier Giroud.

Wenger v Mourinho in battle for the big guns

Bayern Munich's Mario Mandzukic is a wanted man by both clubs © Getty Images

• As Chelsea and Arsenal warm up for a summer transfer tussle, Alex Perry explains why their targets would help them to rival the firepower of Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City.
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According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal's transfer budget remains substantial despite the club-record £42 million summer signing of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid - largely thanks to the impact of several commercial deals.

Wenger has recently agreed a new three-year deal worth £24 million and has the full backing of the Arsenal board to spend big on a trio of players he feels will help the club to glory on both domestic and European fronts next year.

But he will face competition for signatures. Manchester City are unlikely to give up in-form Dzeko without a fight, while Chelsea have long been linked with Mandzukic and Martinez. The Blues are also monitoring Costa, as are Liverpool.

One man who will not be joining Arsenal is Robert Lewandowski - but the Dortmund striker has revealed that Poland team-mate Wojciech Szczesny tried to convince him to join the Gunners instead of Bayern Munich.

"I can confirm that Wojciech tried to convince me to join Arsenal," Lewandowski told the Polish tabloid Fakt.

"We had several talks about this. It was him who did most of the talking, how the club looks inside, what Arsene Wenger thinks of me.

"When we trained before the Champions League games at Colney, there were important people from Arsenal at our sessions as well."

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