Real Madrid set to beat Arsenal to sign Atletico Madrid star Jose Gimenez

- Premier League campaigners Arsenal set to be challenged by Real Madrid for the signature of Atletico Madrid's José Giménez

- The Galacticos are ready to meet the defender's release clause to lure him to the Spanish capital this summer

- Emirates Stadium outfit might switch their attention to Borussia Dortmund's Sokratis Papastathopoulos if they fail to get the player

Real Madrid are reportedly leading the race to sign Atletico Madrid central defender José Giménez according to reports from Daily Express.

The 23-year-old is also said to be wanted by Arsenal new manager Unai Emery who is looking to strengthen his team for competition next term.

He joined the Spanish League side in the summer of 2013 from Danubio and his current contract with the club expires in 2020.

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The Gunners were expected to launch a bid for the Uruguay international this summer but the current European Champions seem to have overtaken the north Londoners in the race to sign the defender.

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According to Spanish news outlet Marca, Los Blancos are plotting to trigger Gimenez’s £53 million release clause in full to snare the centre-back from their city rivals.

The publication also reports that Arsenal will turn to Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos if they fail to land the youngster.

They are said to have reached an advanced stage of negotiations with the 29-year-old.

Unai Emery’s side are said to have made an initial £13 million bid for the centre-back but the Gunners will now meet Dortmund’s £16m asking price.

Beside Gimenez and Papastathopoulos, Arsenal are also interested in signing Juventus’ Stephan Lichtsteiner and Caglar Soyuncu of Freiburg are this summer.

The Emirates Stadium’s head of recruitment Sven Mislintat will be hoping he can use his influence to convince Papastathopoulos as they worked together at Dortmund.

If he joins the Gunners this summer, he will reunite with his former teammate team-mate Pierre Emerick Aubameyang at the north London club.

Emery could be forced to be on the lookout for bargains this summer with it being reported that he has a £50m budget to spend. If that’s the case, Papastathopoulos could be the better option for Arsenal over Gimenez.

Jose was a part of the Atletico Madrid that defeated Marseille to win this year's Europa League Cup earlier this month.

Legit.ng previously reported that Arsenal tried signing the Uruguay international a year ago following the difficulty they faced when they wanted to sign Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia.

Daily Mail claimed the Gunners were are looking at Atletico Madrid star Jose Gimenez as Mustafi’s replacement.