Arsenal chase England Under-21 stopper Butland

Arsenal is leading the chase for highly rate England Under-21 international goalkeeper Jack Butland, according to reports in the British media.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has stepped up his pursuit of a new goalkeeper and has set his sights firmly on the £1 million rated Birmingham City stopper.

Butland is also attracting interest from Premier League rivals Manchester City and Sunderland but Wenger has got a head start.

The Gunners currently have Manuel Almunia out on loan with Championship club West Ham and current No. 2 at the Emirates Lukasz Fabianski is set to quit the Emirates in search of more regular first-team football ahead of the European Championship.

The England Under 21 international is currently on a season long loan at League Two side Cheltenham.

Wenger has been tracking Butland, who is being tipped to become a future England No. 1 for some time now and last week Arsenal sent head scout Steve Rowley and goalkeeping coach Gerry Peyton to watch the 18-year-old in action for the England U21's against Iceland.

The Arsenal boss is keen to acquire the serivces of Butland next summer and sees the keeper being the perfect understudy to Wojciech Szczesny, but could soon replace the Polish stopper as he is being strongly linked with a move to Spanish giants Barcelona.

Butland has been the been the first choice keeper for Cheltenham so far this season and has made nine appearances for the club.

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