In what was a rather dull big Premier League match up between Manchester United and Arsenal yesterday afternoon, the Gunners effectively put the seal on third place courtesy of an 82nd minute Theo Walcott leveller at Old Trafford to make it 1-1.
For much of the afternoon, it was a frustrating watch for Gunners fans who saw them team outplayed by United in the first half but nevertheless, Arsene Wenger’s men pushed hard for the equaliser in the second half with a draw representing a fair result.
As the Gunners pushed for their equaliser, a few chances fell to Olivier Giroud, a man who almost constantly splits opinions with punters drinking here in the Football Transfer Tavern.
With the Frenchman having enjoyed a good season in front of goal, some of our Arsenal fans think they can indeed win the Premier League with their number 12 leading the line next season. For other Gooners, they believe they need someone more clinical in front of goal, especially in the big games.
With strikers very much in demand for not only Arsenal but the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United in the summer, it’s true that there aren’t many forwards so easily attainable on the market right now.
But with fans’ expectations high, here are five men who Wenger might turn to to help their challenge for the title next term.
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Click on Gooner super fan Bully below to reveal the 5 strikers to help Arsenal win the Premier League next season.
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Luciano Vietto
Our shortlist is headed by probably the least known striker of the five in Villarreal’s Argentine forward Luciano Vietto.
Heavily linked with Liverpool as well, the 21-year-old has enjoyed a prosperous debut season in La Liga, bagging 12 goals for the Yellow Submarine who currently sit in sixth place.
With big name strikers so short in supply this summer, Arsene Wenger may be alerted to somebody like Vietto’s talents instead and after all, the Gunners managed to prize Gabriel Paulista away from El Madrigal in the winter transfer window so perhaps they could return for Vietto this summer?
With Joel Campbell currently on loan at Villarreal as part of the deal for Gabriel, maybe Arsenal could sell him to the La Liga outfit permanently in a deal sweetener for Vietto. Watch this space.
Karim Benzema
As referred to in our introduction, does any club’s fanbase disagree as much as Arsenal’s?
Another point of disagreement often surrounds the club’s expectations in the eyes of the fan. With some Gunners supporters seemingly happy to qualify for the Champions League each season to make up the numbers, others want to get closer in challenging Chelsea.
The signing of Vietto would probably appease the former group but to really catch Chelsea, some Gooners in the tavern are questioning why not go for somebody like Karim Benzema instead?
Yes, Benzema has slowly become more of an important presence at the Bernabeu but Arsenal have proved they are willing to spend big money in the last two summer transfer windows in Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.
While Benzema may not be attainable right now, Real Madrid are a club that is used to stacking the world’s best players and with a new flavour of the month up top potentially available in the summer, perhaps they might make Benzema transferable.
Radamel Falcao
I know what you’re thinking; how can somebody like Falcao help Arsenal to win the Premier League after such a forgettable season on loan at Manchester United this term?
Well, football can be a fickle old game and who’s to say that the Colombian international couldn’t recapture his form at pastures new?
Right now, it’s hard to remember the times where Falcao was lauded as one of the most clinical strikers in Europe during his spells at Porto and Atletico Madrid but he would probably benefit from playing week in, week out as the number one striking option for a club like Arsenal.
Right now, Gooners would probably take Giroud over Falcao but if he had the chance to work under Arsene Wenger and got a regular berth up top (unlike at Old Trafford), maybe he’d prove a success.
To repeat, with strikers in such short supply this summer, perhaps this is an option worth exploring with Falcao’s future at parent club Monaco unclear
Mario Mandzukic
Arsenal have been linked with the Croatian international forward for a few transfer windows now but perhaps the summer window of 2015 is the one in which Mandzukic ends up at Arsenal.
Back in January, The Independent claimed Arsene Wenger had again set his sights on the Atletico Madrid forward after being priced out of a move for Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani with £25 million representing the fee the Gunners would be willing to pay for Mandzukic.
While some of our resident Gooners claim he is too similar to what they have in Olivier Giroud, others recognise Mandzukic as an experienced forward who has played in two of Europe’s leading divisions now in the Bundesliga and La Liga.
With Antoine Griezmann stealing the plaudits at the Vicente Calderon and a permanent switch for Fernando Torres a possibility, perhaps Mandzukic may become surplus to requirements.
Julian Draxler
We haven’t heard about this man in a little while, have we?
One of the Gunners’ long-term transfer targets, Julian Draxler has only just returned to the Schalke squad in recent weeks following an injury lay off, appearing as an unused substitute in three of the last four Bundesliga fixtures under Roberto Di Matteo.
With Draxler’s star having fallen a little during that period, perhaps now is the best time for the Gunners to reignite their interest in an undoubtedly special player.
The Gunners failed to complete a deal for the German international in the winter transfer window of 2014 with Gooners lamenting the decision not to make a statement in signing him to help push them over the line to win the Premier League title that time around.
In the lead up to that window, much of the talk surrounded Arsene Wenger’s proposed intentions to eventually convert Draxler into a striker, much like the way in which he transformed Thierry Henry’s career and perhaps those visions could yet become reality this summer?
