When we talk about suitable partners for Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud that reside out their in transfer window land right now, we talk about them as being a partner in the Gunners’ squad dynamic rather than in the same eleven.
This is because Arsene Wenger has been dead set on deploying a 4-2-3-1 formation for some time now with Giroud being the focal point as a man who can hold up the ball while bringing others into play, not to mention being good with the ball at his feet for a big man.
Despite his talents, for Arsenal to win the Premier League, they need a striker to bag closer to 30 goals and with available striker’s a short commodity this summer, time is running out for Arsene Wenger to find this missing jigsaw piece.
In fairness to Giroud, he managed to bag 14 goals in the Premier League last term and considering he missed around four months of the season through injury, he may well have gone on to get closer to the 25-goal mark.
While that is all of course metaphoric, some Arsenal fans really don’t rate Giroud at all and are clinging onto the rumours linking the Gunners with a late raid on Real Madrid for Karim Benzema right now.
With three or so weeks left to go in the transfer window, here are five strikers Arsenal should sign to boost their attacking ranks.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 strikers Arsenal should sign to partner with Olivier Giroud.
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Karim Benzema
Surely it’s this man or bust for Arsenal this summer?
While Guillem Balague has claimed via Twitter that a deal won’t happen this summer, other Spanish football experts such ass Graham Hunter claim a deal is doable with Real Madrid in thousands of euros of debt and in need of extra finances to fund the David De Gea deal.
On the face of it, you’d imagine Real Madrid would want a replacement in before deeming Benzema surplus to requirements but as we’ve seen, there have been strong rumours that either Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale could be deployed as a central striker this term.
You feel Arsenal fans will have to wait right up until the deadline on this one but as we’ve seen in the past, Real Madrid can be funny when it comes to parting with players in the peak of their career – just look at Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria in recent seasons.
Fernando Llorente
For optimistic Arsenal fans, they’ll eventually get Karim Benzema this summer; for cynical ones, they’ll probably end up with this man, Fernando Llorente.
Surplus to requirements at Juventus right now with the Old Lady having swooped to sign Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic this summer, the Spanish international will be on the move before the window slams shut on September 1st.
Arsenal have been heavily linked with a swoop for the former Athletic Bilbao hitman and the latest on his situation is that Sevilla have had a £8.5 million offer for Llorente rejected by Juve.
With the Turin giants reportedly holding out for £10.5 million, Gooners are questioning whether this panic signing would even be worth that fee for someone who is now 30-years-old.
Julian Draxler
One day he’ll sign for Arsenal right?
You’d think so given the incessant links that continue to talk about Arsenal and Julian Draxler in the same breath each and every transfer window.
Two January transfer windows ago, the Gunners were most heavily linked with the German international’s signature and that year, you felt that if Arsenal strengthened as they should have, they could’ve eventually gone the distance.
Settling for Kim Kallstrom on loan instead, Arsene Wenger felt he was priced out of a move for the Schalke man but this summer, Arsenal have again been linked with his signature.
Previously it has been reported that Wenger had designs on converting Draxler into a central striker much like the way he transformed Thierry Henry’s career.
That said, the absolute latest on Draxler’s situation is that Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri has commented on the German claiming: “Draxler is a young player with a great future.”
Read into that what you will.
Gonzalo Higuain
Much like Julian Draxler, we wonder whether the links to Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain will ever go away.
In the summer transfer window where the Gunners eventually ended up in jubilation at the signing of Mesut Ozil, they were for the most part linked with Higuain’s signature only for the Argentine to plump for the Italian side after leaving Real Madrid.
Higuain reportedly wants out this summer but given the last 18 months in which the player lost both the World Cup and Copa America Finals, his stock has fallen somewhat.
Despite that he still is a lethal player at club level and boasts 35 goals in 69 Serie A appearances for Napoli right now.
The latest on the Higuain situation is that the players’ agent and brother Nicolas has claimed regarding Napoli’s contractual offer: “I don’t think we’ll accept the president’s offer, because the contract isn’t that different to the one we signed before, so for us it’s not a real offer.”
Alexandre Lacazette
With his future having done more U-turns than a driver who doesn’t know where he’s going in a foreign country, we think the only thing that will stop the Alexandre Lacazette rumours is the closure of the summer transfer window itself.
Even then, we’ll probably hear reports that Arsenal failed with an eleventh hour bid for the French international!
But right now, The Express are among those that claim the French international has agreed a new deal with Lyon.
Of course, prior to the Emirates Cup we heard the player himself claim that he had no designs on departing the Stade Gerland this summer but after the mini tournament, the internet was awash with rumours that the club and Jean-Michel Aulas were getting annoyed with Lacazette’s attitude.
Quite simply, until that new deal is signed with Lyon, we think there’s a smidgen of a chance he could make a high profile late move to the Premier League.
