Gunners told to make Sami Khedira their highest earner

Arsenal will need to make Germany midfielder Sami Khedira their highest paid player if they are to sign him this summer.

The Gunners lodged a £23.8m bid for the Real Madrid player earlier this month as part of Arsene Wenger’s efforts to build a title-challenging squad for the coming season.

But Khedira, who is set to start for Germany in Sunday’s World Cup final against Argentina, would need to be paid £150,000 a week – the equivalent of £7.8m a year – in order to join the north London club, according to Spanish radio station Cadena SER.

The figure would make the 27-year-old the highest paid player at the Emirates, ahead of club-record signing Mesut Ozil, who is on £140,000 per week.

Real Madrid are keen to keep hold of the defensive-minded midfielder, who made 13 Liga appearances for Los Merengues during an injury-hit season.