If you’re an Arsenal fan, there is simply one rumour in transfer cyberspace today that is capturing your full attention and that concerns Karim Benzema and a reported £40 million transfer from Real Madrid.
The Sun led with a huge splash on their back pages today that claimed Arsenal are set to focus all of their efforts upon landing the French international who if signed for that fee, would become their second most expensive import after Mesut Ozil.
Arsenal fans were delighted earlier in the transfer window when they signed Petr Cech from Chelsea in a high profile swoop but ever since then, concrete transfer news regarding Arsenal has been thin on the ground with Gooners starting to fear that Arsene Wenger will stop at adding only the goalkeeper.
Wenger says time and again that he’ll only look to add players who can add genuine quality to the squad but with transfer targets being snapped up left, right and centre by the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United, it’s sometimes hard to accept the Frenchman’s ever patient stance.
One thing’s for sure; if Arsenal fail to secure a new striker this summer, you can expect to see the #WengerOut brigade rear their head again the early weeks of the season if it doesn’t go to plan on the field.
While Olivier Giroud has proved himself to be a good player in the Premier League, 99.9% of Arsenal fans still believe the team need that striker with the X-factor to claim Premier League glory.
With Wenger denying a bid for Benzema has been made at the moment, we’ve lined up five alternative striker signings if a move for the French forward doesn’t come off.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 alternative signings if Arsenal miss out on landing Karim Benzema this summer.
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
One of the most talked about names when you consider alternative strikers to Benzema, Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang still managed to plunder 16 goals under Jurgen Klopp last term despite the German giants’ struggles in the league.
Eventually trudging their way to a seventh-placed finish, Dortmund endured the toughest season of recent memory and perhaps Aubameyang could be tempted into trying his luck in another division as a result.
The Gabon international is an absolute speed machine with a clinical touch in front of goal and would completely and utterly represent a different option to Olivier Giroud.
While some Arsenal fans claim Theo Walcott can perform the role in which Aubameyang does, the Gabonese forward has been playing in the position his whole career and Gooners by the bar admit that he’s probably worth around £30 million given his goal haul in recent campaigns.
Julian Draxler
Julian Draxler’s future is again under intense speculation right now with Juventus being rumoured as the latest club to be showing a interest in the Schalke man.
That said, recent reports by The Express suggest it is Arsenal who have been handed a boost in their efforts to land the German international after Draxler’s agent dismissed the Juve interest immediately.
Arsenal have of course been long-term admirers of Draxler and there had previously been reports that Arsene Wenger was keen on tying up his signature ahead of converting him to play as a cenrte forward, much like the way in which Thierry Henry was transformed from a left winger to a striker.
At present, you’d imagine a new Arsenal swoop for Draxler is unlikely with the Gunners having been snubbed in their efforts to sign him once already but that said, if Benzema’s switch doesn’t come to pass, Arsenal may be forced to panic late in the window.
Alexandre Lacazette
Just when is this guy going to move, if he even does of course.
Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette has been talked about as a man who could improve most teams’ attacks so far this summer in the tavern but with Liverpool now moving for Christian Benteke, Arsenal seem to have eliminated another team in the race to sign him.
Lacazette caused something of a Twitter storm recently when he ‘favourited’ a tweet that linked him with a summer transfer to Arsenal only for the player to ‘unfavourite’ it a short time after.
While this may seem an incredibly juvenile piece of information for Arsenal fans to latch themselves onto this transfer window, Mathieu Debuchy did perform a similar act in last summer’s transfer window ahead of joining from Newcastle United so make of this what you will.
Having scored 27 goals in Ligue 1 as the top scorer last term, Lacazette is an up-and-coming forward in every regard and you’d imagine he’d only get better under the guidance of a French icon such as Arsene Wenger.
Gonzalo Higuain
Gonzalo Higuain is a player who seems to have been linked with an Arsenal switch for an absolute eternity and almost as long as Yoann Gourcuff has been!
Right now, the Argentine striker is still in a difficult position at Napoli with the former Real Madrid man looking for a switch away while the Serie A club’s chiefs continue to play hardball regarding his exit.
We’ve read in recent weeks that Napoli have claimed they won’t sell Higuain for any fee below his £67 million buy-out clause but when you consider the amount of personal disappointment Higuain has suffered in the last 18 months, asking for this amount is simply preposterous.
At present, an Arsenal transfer looks unlikely with Higuain’s agent and brother Nicolas having claimed that the Gunners are yet to bid for the striker but Arsenal’s hand may be forced later in the window if their Benzema efforts fail.
Fernando Llorente
Arsenal fans by the bar are rolling their eyes at this one claiming Fernando Llorente is a Tottenham-standard striker but if the Gunners continue to dither in the market, they may end up needing to consider someone like the Spaniard.
On the face of it, a Llorente switch does look incredibly unlikely with Arsene Wenger having continuously mentioned that he’ll only add true quality to his cohesive squad this summer but if Olivier Giroud succumbs to an injury in pre-season, perhaps he’ll be an option worth considering.
A tall target man with a decent goal record for Juventus despite his bit-part status, there are a lot of similarities between Giroud and Llorente’s games and with available strikers being a rare commodity this summer, Llorente may need to be considered later on down the line.
