Ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Aston Villa, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is wary of the threat posed by the Villans' striker Christian Benteke, who has been mooted as Liverpool's top transfer target this summer.
Arsenal have finished their league campaign in third and thereby they have qualified directly for the group stage of the Champions League. They will now contest their second consecutive FA Cup final, having won against Hull City at Wembley last year.
Benteke has been the driving force behind Aston Villa’s successful push out of the relegation zone and their eventual 17th place finish. The Belgium international scored 11 times in the Villans’ last 11 league outings to help them avoid relegation.
He was also on the scoresheet in the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool and Wenger is wary of the threat posed by the Belgian marksman as he prepares his team for Saturday’s Wembley showdown.
“He’s a player who has a massive potential”, the Frenchman was quoted as saying his club’s site at a pre-match press conference.
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“I think some of the bad fortune of Aston Villa this season was linked with the fact that Benteke was not there.
“When he came back into the team, he gave a lift to everybody and of course he has a fantastic leap, he’s an intelligent player as well and he can score goals with his feet.
“He’s fantastic in the air and can score headers against any team in the league."
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