Arsenal set sights on French keeper

Arsenal are ready to make a £2 million summer move for French goalkeeper Ulrich Rame.

The Bordeaux star, who played for France in their 5-0 win over Japan on Saturday, is favourite to be the long-term successor to England's David Seaman at Highbury.

The 28-year-old from Nantes, who stood in for injured Manchester United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez to win his fifth cap for France, has only a year left on his contract.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Bordeaux will be anxious to cash in on Rame rather than let him leave on a free transfer at the end of next season.

The asking price would be around £2m and Rame, who was part of France's triumphant Euro 2000 squad, is said to be keen to follow his compatriots Thierry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires and Barthez into the Premier-ship. He would also love to work for Wenger, whose reputation among the French players is sky-high.

But there could be one stumbling block for Wenger, who has been tracking Rame for more than a year.

Rame has made it clear that he wants regular first-team football and he would be unwilling to be a permanent understudy to Seaman at Arsenal. His main aim is to put pressure on Barthez, the automatic selection for France after his heroics in the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship finals last summer.

Seaman, who was one of the stars of England's World Cup win over Finland on Saturday, has signed a new one-year contract and is the automatic first choice at Arsenal.

But Wenger may decide next season to prepare for the future and, if he signs Rame, it is possible that the new arrival will be given more first-team opportunities than the present No 2, Alex Manninger.