With Petr Cech in the bag, Arsenal fans are absolutely delighted with this signing and are already claiming that this transfer alone makes them that much more competitive ahead of next season.
So just imagine what a world class forward would also do for Arsenal’s title credentials with many Gooners praying that Arsene Wenger swoops to sign somebody to challenge and usurp Olivier Giroud in the Gunners’ first team next season.
The one problem is that genuine world class forwards who are available this summer are in very short supply.
The Gunners have already been linked with Jackson Martinez, Alexandre Lacazette, Carlos Bacca, Gonzalo Higuain and most recently Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang so far this summer but the North London club are no closer to landing any of the fivesome with Martinez actually about to sign for Atletico Madrid.
While this is of course disappointing, all will be forgiven should Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema be an Arsenal player by the end of the summer transfer window.
Although it still looks like a pipedream at present, the press are still refusing to nip the Benzema to Arsenal rumours in the bud entirely with Real Madrid still fancied to make a rather large swoop for Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero this summer.
If such a switch comes to pass, perhaps Benzema may be rendered surplus to requirements and it is then when Arsenal must pounce for the sake of their title challenge next term.
Keeping along this theme, we’ve noted five reasons why Arsenal simply must swoop for the French international this summer.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 reasons why Arsenal need to sign Karim Benzema this summer.
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His signing instantly takes Arsenal to another level
Petr Cech has already been talked about as a game changing signing in regards to his point saving abilities but imagine if he was paired with an absolutely clinical world class striker this summer?
Olivier Giroud of course ended up with a respectable 19 goals in all competitions last season with only Alexis Sanchez usurping him with 25 strikes but considering Sergio Aguero won the Golden Boot with 26 Premier League strikes to his name, Arsenal need a striker of that next level who is on par with the Argentine in the goalscoring stakes.
Karim Benzema’s total La Liga goal haul for Real Madrid so far stands at 87 strikes in 188 games and the consensus is that he’d bag 20+ goals for Arsenal despite having never played in English football before.
Benzema has always been a clinical finisher so those cold Wednesday nights away at Stoke City would be unlikely to faze the Frenchman!
Because Bacca, Aubameyang, Higuain aren’t as good
While the likes of Carlos Bacca, Gonzalo Higuain and Alexandre Lacazette have been talked about as potential striking options for Arsenal to sign so far this summer, all three of them simply aren’t as good as Karim Benzema.
We’ve previously seen Arsene Wenger waiting it out until the tail end of the summer transfer window in order to sign Mesut Ozil after he became surplus to requirements at Real Madrid and this is a theme that may be repeated this time round.
With Real Madrid set to sign David De Gea, it remains to be seen whether they’ll formalise a swoop for Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero in order to keep up in the arms race with Barcelona and their devastating MSN of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.
If Aguero does arrive at the Bernabeu as the latest Galactico, expect Benzema to become surplus to requirements right at the last minute like Ozil was and it is then in which Arsenal should plot their swoop.
It would be a gamble but ultimately if it came off, Arsene Wenger would be having the last laugh in signing a player he’s always admired.
It confirms Arsenal’s status as a huge club again
While Arsenal are undoubtedly one of the biggest clubs on the planet given their global reach, they are of course only just getting used to winning trophies again.
With Cech already in the bag and Gooners now dreaming of landing Benzema, if the latter swoop came to pass, this would surely confirm Arsenal’s status as a huge club again, championship title winning-wise?
Arsene Wenger has spoke time and again about the fact the club had to pay off their Emirates Stadium debt before returning to sign the very best players in the game while refusing to part with their prized assets.
When you look at the evidence, Wenger was telling the truth all along with Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and now Petr Cech representing marquee year-on-year arrivals when compared with Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh before them.
With Arsenal now being able to splash the cash again, a potential big money swoop for Benzema this summer can’t be ruled out.
After all, they only parted with £10.9 million to secure the signature of Cech.
He is the perfect age
We’ve already seen that Arsenal have shied away from swooping for Jackson Martinez due to his age.
The Colombian international is all set to join Atletico Madrid after the Copa America and being 28 with his 29th birthday to come in October, if he proved to a flop for the Gunners, there would’ve been no re-sell value in a Roberto Soldado-like situation.
Arsenal very rarely move for players who are immediately approaching their thirties and this is why a swoop for Martinez’s international team-mate Carlos Bacca looks unlikely to boot.
One man who is definitely in his prime and the perfect age is Karim Benzema.
Currently 27-years-old, the French international is in his prime with the Gunners still able to coax the best form out of him.
When you consider both Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are 26, Wenger is trying to instil players who can produce their best form for the next three or four seasons.
He’ll complete Arsenal’s French spine
When you talk about Premier League title winning teams, something that is nearly always referenced is the spine of the team which is seen as the foundation on which the glory is delivered.
It was clear last term that Thibaut Courtois, John Terry, Nemanja Matic and Diego Costa were the foundation on which Jose Mourinho delivered the title while talk of Arsenal’s spine has always centred upon how it needs to be improved.
That said, with Petr Cech now signed, Arsene Wenger is going about improving this element of his squad.
While Laurent Koscielny continues to be linked with Real Madrid, his importance to the Gunners can’t be undervalued and when you consider the fantastic job Francis Coquelin did last term, a new solid-looking spine is starting to emerge.
A French influenced spine of Cech, Koscielny, Coquelin and Benzema looks dreamy on paper and this is something Arsenal fans hope becomes a reality in 2015/16.
