Transfer Roundup: June 10th

Stevan Jovetic

One of Arsenal’s main transfer targets Stevan Jovetic has expressed his desire to join Italian champions Juventus, dealing the North London club a blow in their hunt for a striker.

Arsenal were prepared to start the bidding for the Fiorentina player at £25million, but Jovetic has publicly stated that he wants to stay in Italy and play for Juventus.

“Juve have been after me for a year, and they say they want me and that I’m a top target. Who wouldn’t be flattered by that? I want to move there so I can grow” the player said.

Although this does look like a big blow to Arsenal’s transfer hopes, Juventus also have interest in another of the Gunner’ transfer targets, Gonzalo Higuain.

Juve officials apparently met with Real Madrid yesterday to discuss a move for the Argentinian, but with Jovetic going on record saying he wants a move to Juventus the Italian champions may favour a move for a younger player who knows the league.

If Juventus are successful in their pursuit for Stevan Jovetic, Arsenal will be in pole position to sign the Madrid man.

Nicklas Bendtner

Arsenal flop and self confessed “best striker in the world” Nicklas Bendtner is close to a move away from the Emirates, according to the player himself.

The Danish international, who has one year left on his contract with Arsenal, has told the press that he has been holding talks with ‘five or six’ clubs over a permanent transfer.

Previously unable to secure a permanent deal away from North London, Bendtner spent a season on-loan to Sunderland and last season at Juventus, he was unimpressive at both clubs.

Bendtner said: ‘I am talking with five or six clubs at the moment over a permanent transfer,

‘Things are agreed with Arsenal and I will decide which club I sign for in the next two weeks.’

Unlikely to command a high transfer fee, Bendtner will likely attract an offer around the £3-5million mark, with Arsenal willing to accept any offer.

Theo Walcott

Arsenal’s star forward Theo Walcott is a surprise transfer target for new Napoli manager Rafa Benitez.

Napoli sold winger Ezequiel Lavezzi to Paris Saint-Germain last summer and are unlikely to keep hold of their talismanic striker Edinson Cavani following interest from Manchester City and Chelsea.

The cash gained from selling Cavani will go towards a £23million bid which will attempt to tempt England star Walcott into trading North London for Southern Italy.

Following a widely publicised transfer saga last year, the 24-year-old has recently signed a bumper deal which makes him one of Arsenal’s best paid players and Arsene Wenger is thought to be unlikely to sell a man he spent so long chasing to pen a new contract.

Nicolas Gaitain

Benfica’s playmaker Nicolas Gaitain is the latest player in Europe to be linked with Arsenal this summer, in what is now becoming a seemingly endless list of rumours.

The 25-year-old helped Benfica reach the Europa League final and second in the Portuguese league last season and has previously been linked with Manchester United.

Benfica are very reluctant to sell their star midfielder unless his £40million release clause is triggered, something that Arsenal are very unlikely to do, despite assurances that there is more money available to the club than ever before.

Transfer Target: Gonzalo Higuaín

Scouting Profile

Name: Gonzalo Higuaín
Age: 25
Nationality: Argentinian
Position: Striker/ Centre Forward
Current Team: Real Madrid

Scouting Report

Gonzalo Higuaín has been linked with Arsenal for the last few months and rumours continue to gather pace with every day, particularly following the alleged cooling of interest in Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic.

Last season for Real Madrid the Argentinian netted 17 times in 37 appearances, this was despite Jose Mourinho preferring to use Karim Benzema.

Higuaín still managed to score more goals than the highly rated Frenchman, scoring five more times in two less appearances.

Unsettled at Real Madrid, Higuaín has his heart set on a move away and he is exactly what Arsenal need – a powerful striker who excels in his finishing and dribbling abilities.

Higuaín is noted for his dangerous counter attack threat and is often caught offside, however, when not caught offside the player’s skillful finishing is enough to trouble any goalkeeper.

Another asset which adds to his threat on the counter is his acceleration and speed, Higuain is no slouch and would capably support blistering runs from lighting fast Theo Walcott.

His speed and deadly finishing would be a great compliment to the aerial talents of target man Olivier Giroud, and although in the current formation Arsene Wenger insists on, the two players provide interesting options for the manager.

In the same way as Arsenal’s signings last summer, Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski, Higuaín is not afraid to shoot from distance and will look to shoot from range if the opportunity arises.

As well as being a complete striker with an eye for goal, Higuaín is not greedy and is more than willing to pass to his teammates if they have a better chance to score, racking up seven assists in the last campaign.

Rarely fouled and sparingly dispossessed the striker has the ability to hold onto the ball until he can pass it onto another player or fire a rocket at the goal.

Final Thoughts

Gonzalo Higuaín is exactly what Arsenal need. A potent, fast, proven striker who has experience in a top European league as well as the Champions League.

His goalscoring record says it all, Higuaín is a quality player and would walk straight into Arsenal’s first team and provide an incentive for Giroud, who has publicly stated he will welcome competition, to up his game in the coming season.

The only trouble is a player of this calibre attracts other clubs, and big clubs at that. Juventus are rumoured to be very interested in the Argentinian’s services and have been for quite some time.

But with the Italian Champions having signed Fernando Llorente and media indicating that a deal for Stevan Jovetic is close, as well as rumoured interest in Carlos Tevez, Higuaín may be destined for Arsenal.

His father met with Arsene Wenger in London recently and talk were said to be very productive, so we will have to wait and see, but things do look very positive right now.

Transfer Roundup: June 9th

Gonzalo Higuain, Ilkay Gundogan and Lars Bender

The Daily Mirror reported yesterday that Arsenal were planning three bids that would smash the clubs current transfer record.

Gonzalo Higuain, who has been subject to intense rumours surrounding Arsenal in the past few weeks, is one of the players mentioned by the newspaper and would be the player Arsene Wenger hopes to lead his team attack next season.

Higuain scored 16 goals last season, the second most of any Real Madrid players behind Ronaldo, and has undeniable scoring talent which Arsenal fans are craving for, following a mixed response to Olivier Giroud.

Another to be linked by the paper was Ilkay Gundogan, the scorer of Borussia Dortmund’s penalty equaliser in this year’s Champions League final and a key piece in Dortmund’s midfield.

The Germany international would cost around the £20 million mark, but following the departure of Dortmund’s Gotze the Bundesliga runners-up would be very reluctant to sell one of their stars.

If a bid for Gundogan fails, another defensive midfielder is on the North London clubs radar, for £20 million rated Lars Bender of Bayer Leverkusen.

Bender, praised for his hard tackling and concentration in matches, has been linked with Arsenal for a while now and it is thought that Wenger is very keen on bringing in the player to strengthen his midfield and defence.

Would these three signings be considered a successful summer? Add a tough centre back to the aforementioned trio and Arsenal would surely have the tool to challenge for a title.

Gervinho

Arsenal’s highly erratic Ivory Coast winger has struggled to settle at the North London club and is now starting to attract interest from various clubs.

Galatasaray are prepared to lodge a £12 million bid for the player in a hope to link the player up with fellow compatriots Didier Drogba and Emmanuel Eboue.

Signed in 2011 for £10.8 million, Wenger is ready to cash in on what has been a failed endeavour for the ex-Lille player, despite having his best year in an Arsenal shirt with seven goals in total.

It is thought that any funds acquired from the sale of Gervinho would go straight into Arsenal’s transfer kitty to spend on bringing in transfer targets.

The question is, does Arsenal promote another winger from within, such as Gnabry? Or does the club seek out a replacement on the transfer market?

Cesc Fabregas

The Fabregas transfer saga continues to rage on and this time it is Manchester United who have been dealt a crushing blow in their pursuit of the ex-Arsenal favourite.

It has reportedly been said that: “Like Thierry Henry, Fabregas has always said he would never play for any other English club.”

More light is being shed on United’s £40 million bid for the Barcelona player and their bid was only in response to Arsenal’s interest in Wayne Rooney.

Arsenal are clearly in pole position to bring Fabregas back to England considering the players’ personal relationship with Arsenal and also the transfer clauses Arsenal implemented into his contract.

Many Twitter “in the knows” are pointing to a big announcement from Arsenal next week and many are speculating that it may be related to Fabregas, so keep an eye out.

Transfer Target: Clement Grenier

Scouting Profile

Name: Clement Grenier
Age: 22 (07/01/1991)
Nationality: French
Position: Attacking Midfield
Current Team: Olympique Lyon

Scouting Report

Arsenal certainly need to bring in players to bolster a fragile defence and blunt attacking core, but an area which needs little work, other than the addition of a defensively minded player, is the midfield.

Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s newly crowned Player of the Season Santi Cazorla make up a strong and highly creative group of midfielders.

This has not stopped Arsenal being linked with Cesc Fabregas and Clement Grenier in recent weeks, two players who are not known for their defensive qualities.

22-year-old Grenier was close to a move to Nice last season, thankfully for both Lyon and Grenier the deal broke down and the French midfielder cemented his place in Lyon’s first team and as one of their most important players.

Injuries to Yoann Gourcuff, Lyon’s version of Arsenal’s infinitely injured Abou Diaby, allowed Grenier to flourish in Ligue 1 and the Europa League, ending the season with a call up to the French national team.

In Ligue 1 last year Grenier scored seven goals and assisted a further six times, add to that another three assists in the Europa league and it gives an indicator of how creative the young Frenchman is.

His high amount of goals scored and assisted is thanks to his high amounts of shots per game (SPG), 1.6, and his consistency of key passes per game, also 1.6. Compared to fellow Lyon players, he ranks fourth behind two strikers and a winger for SPG and second in terms of key passes.

His high amount of shots puts him in the same range as Arsenal’s Lukas Podolski (1.6 shots per game) and ranks between Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey in terms of key passes (1.9 and 1.3 respectively).

Of course, the calibre of player in Ligue 1 is not the same standard of the Premier League, but the statistics point to Grenier being a promising creative and attacking player.

One point of concern is his passing in general, with a pass success rate of 74% this is not an area where he excels and may require some work to fit into the fluent passing style which Arsene Wenger’s side plays.

That said, Grenier’s main selling point is his stunning ability at taking set-pieces, particularly direct free kicks and would easily become Arsenal’s first choice at free kicks if he were to make the switch.

Arsene Wenger compared Grenier to Samir Nasri a key member of Arsenal’s team before controversially making a switch to Manchester City in 2011, despite rubbing Arsenal fans the wrong way, Nasri is a quality player and the comparison is certainly a glowing compliment.

Final Thoughts

Clement Grenier is a talented, young, French player and fits the Arsenal philosophy down to the ground, however, the shifting financial firepower of the Gunners means that fans now demand established marquee additions to the squad. Grenier is not this.

He is heavily hinted at an imminent move to North London, telling a French media outlet: “”I have more or less made a decision about which club I want to join,”

“I have made the choice for sporting reasons above all. Arsenal? It could well be them.”

Grenier would be a solid signing as well as undoubtedly strengthening a side that has been ravaged by injuries in recent seasons, and as a second half substitute Grenier’s creative flair and confident shooting could make the difference when pushing for a win.

He has accepted that a move to a bigger club means there is fierce competition for places, and his hunger for success and professional attitude certainly fits the profile of player Arsenal should be signing.

Rated at around the £7 million mark, a future France international, free kick ace and potential midfield master would be an absolute steal for that price, however fans are craving a Fabregas, Rooney or Fellaini, and not yet another French youngster.

(All statistics from the brilliant http://www.WhoScored.com)

 

Transfer Roundup: 8th June

Gonzalo Higuain

It is no secret that Arsenal are in need of reinforcements up front and Real Madrid’s wantaway striker Gonzalo Higuain has been identified as a top target by the Gunners.

Florentino Perez, Real Madrid’s president, has vocally stated that Higuain is no longer needed at the Bernabéu and will be sold this summer.

The Argentinian has attracted interest from some of Europe’s elite clubs including Italian Champions Juventus and previously Manchester City, but it now looks like Arsenal are in pole position to land their man.

Arsene Wenger met with Higuain and his father, who is also the players agent, in Paris and held productive talks with the duo about a move to North London.

Arsenal were boosted by the news that Wenger will have £70 million to spend on transfers this summer, the biggest transfer kitty in the club’s history.

Higuain could be available for as little as £20 million, leaving a hefty amount left in the warchest for more high-profile additions to the squad.

Matthias Ginter

The Daily Mirror are reporting that Arsenal are interested in signing German starlet Matthias Ginter of Freiburg.

The 19-year-old made 21 appearances in the Bundesliga last season, scoring once in that time.

Although primarily used as a defensive midfielder, the German has also played in a more creative midfield role and interestingly as a striker for his club this season.

The Freiburg star has also attracted attention from Champions League finalists and Bundesliga runners up Borussia Dortmund, making competition for the players signature tough.

Freiburg have already lost several key players already this offseason, and would be reluctant to sell. But Arsenal, with plenty of cash available and a core of German players (Podolski, Mertesacker, Gnabry, Eisfeld) already at the Emirates, could be boosted in any move they make for the youngster.

Be sure to catch Ginter in action for Germany at this month’s U-21 European Championships.

Marouane Fellaini

Arsenal’s hopes of landing Everton and Belgium star Marouane Fellaini took a blow last night as Everton chairman Bill Kenwright admitted he is ready to give up his star to Manchester United.

David Moyes has been quiet since taking over Manchester United and it is beng widely reported that is number one transfer target this summer is his ex-player Fellaini.

Kenwright explained that Moyes knowledge of Fellaini’s contract and release clause gives the new United manager a huge boost in his pursuit for the midfielder.

It was recently reported that Arsenal had activated the lofty Belgian’s £22 million release clause, however insiders quickly defused those rumours, but clarified that the interest was definitely there.

Keep an eye on this story as it is highly likely that the transfer will develop in the coming weeks.

Simon Mignolet

Arsenal have identified Simon Mignolet as a transfer target as they look to provide competition for the erratic Wojciech Szczesny between the sticks.

The Belgian international was a key reason that Sunderland avoided relegation from the Premier League last season and has drawn attention from top clubs across Europe.

His agent spoke out this week, telling the Sunderland Echo: “I think it is very unlikely that he will sign a new contract.

“Simon has obviously come to a point where he wants to step up a level and there is a lot of interest in him.”

Mignolet faces tough competition from Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois, who has enjoyed two successful seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid, to be Belgian’s first choice goalkeeper for the 2014 World Cup and wants to prove himself at a higher level.

Mignolet still has two years left on his contract, but if the right deal came along for the keeper, Sunderland would likely be willing to sell.

 

Transfer Target – Adrián López

Age: 24 (8th January, 1988)
Position: Forward
Nationality: Spanish
Current Team: Atlético Madrid

Arséne Wenger has been told that he has £35million to spend in January to strengthen his squad and with Olivier Giroud struggling to hit the ground running in the Premier League  it is expected that Wenger will splash out on another striker in the next transfer window.

Arsenal have signed two Spaniards in the last 18 months with midfield maestros Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta both joining the ranks and the North London side are persistently being linked with other Spanish star including lofty hit-man Fernando Llorente and starlet Isco.

Another Spaniard who has caught the eye of the Gunners is Atlético Madrid’s Adrián a player tipped to be “the new David Villa” according to Spanish sports newspaper Marca.

Following two loan spells to Spanish sides Alavés and Malaga CF Adrián moved to Atlético Madrid where he muscled his way into the first team following a string of impressive performances which saw him overtake ex-Arsenal player José Antonio Reyes.

His development from young talent to a refined star did not go unnoticed by the star-studded Spanish international team with López making 19 appearances for the countries U21 side and two for the senior squad, having scored for the senior side on one of those occasions.

Adrián’s excels at short passes, particularly one-two’s with his teammates, which paired with his impressive dribbling ability makes him a very dangerous player when it comes to both setting up his team and creating his own chances.

Another area in which Adrián is talented is his heading ability and aerial duels success rate, with a good amount of his goals coming from his head and not his foot.

Composure is another feature of Adrián’s game that makes him such a stand-out player, the ability to dribble past a keeper or through a maze of defenders to deliver a inch perfect pass or a shot into the bottom corner of the net can not be underestimated.

Versatility is another key component of the players game and this season so far the Spain international has played as a winger on both flanks, an attacking midfield and as a striker.

Adrián has a release clause of around £14million and would give Arséne Wenger an  incredibly versatile and different attacking option to the looming presence of Giroud, as well as giving Wenger greater depth in case of injury or lack of form.

There are few better options on the European market for such a talented and proven player at such a reasonable price (Crystal Palace expect £20m+ for Wilfred Zaha for example) and it’s the kind of move that has a money conscious Wenger written all over it.

López is one of Arsenal’s best options right now, hopefully Santi and Mikel can persuade the 24-year-old to make the move from Madrid to London in January.

Champions League Preview – Schalke 04

Arsenal will be looking to put their lackluster weekend performance against Norwich City behind them quickly as they take on German powerhouse Schalke 04 in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday.

The Opponent

Nestled in West Germany Schalke 04 are one of German football’s giants having won the Bundesliga seven times and finished as runners-up nine times in the clubs history despite being slightly overshadowed by Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.

Their current season is going particularly well as they sit third in the league having taken 17 points from eight games, distancing them from fourth place rivals Borussia Dortmund by five points.

As far as form goes Schalke are red hot right now, having won three of their last five games and only losing once in that time against league leaders Bayern Munich.

Schalke will try to build on their success at the weekend as they dominantly beat bitter rivals Borussia Dortmund 1-2 in the Revierderby.

Key Players

The obvious threat to Arsenal’s defense is the impressive Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, a player who scored 29 times in the Bundesliga last season and has continued his solid goal scoring record having scored three league goals already this season.

Huntelaar has an immense finisher who can seemingly produce scoring opportunities out of absolutely nothing, pair this with superb heading abilities and Huntelaar is a formidable attacking opponent.

Schalke 04 captain Benedikt Howedes has proved himself to be one of the clubs key players in the past few years and has recently broken into the German national team and could prove to be a thorn in the side of Arsenal’s forwards.

24-year-old Howedes is an exceptional interceptor of balls and a hard tackler who commits very few fouls, making his disciplined but effective approach to defending tough to break down.

Barcelona loanee Ibrahim Afellay has taken no time at all to get used to life in the German league, having scored twice in five starts.

Afellay excels on the ground with strong ball control and dribbling attributes that could prove problematic for Arsenal’s fullbacks if they are caught napping, what makes the Dutch international even more dangerous is the fact that he isn’t afraid to have a shot from range.

Injuries

Kyriakos Papadopoulos – Virus

Julian Draxler – Forearm

Sergio Escudero – Groin

Vassilis Pliatsikas – Knee

Arsenal

The Gunners will be frustrated following their disappointing 1-0 loss to relegation favourites Norwich City on Saturday and will aim to get back on track with a win against tough competition at home.

A stat that works in the favour of Arsenal is the fact that the Gunners are unbeaten in 16 Champions League home matches and have not lost at home to a foreign club in an astonishing 45 times, since 2003.

What makes the matchup even more sweeter (statistically) is the fact that Arsenal have not lost to German visitors in their last six games, having recorded nine victories against Bundesliga sides.

Key Players

One of Arsenal’s newest recruits Lukas Podolski brings with him a huge amount of experience against German sides, including Schalke, and has a good history of goals against the club having scored four times against them.

Podolski will look to expose the Schalke 04’s frailties with a combination of long shots, short passes and of course his phenomenal direct free kick ability.

Arsenal’s lofty German defender Per Mertesacker will bring even more experience against Schalke to the Gunners squad on Wednesday having made 12 appearances against the side in his time at Werder Bremen.

The in-form defender will be aiming to build on his strong start to the season, despite having made only 9 tackles in eight appearances for the club.

Finally, Arsenal’s number 24, Vito Mannone, will make his third Champions League appearance of the season between the sticks and will face one of the biggest challenges of his young career so far.

Schalke have no shortage of attacking options and the young Italian will have to be at his best if he is to guide Arsenal to nine points from three group stage games.

Injuries:

Theo Walcott – Lung

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Hip

Tomas Rosicky – Tendon

Abou Diaby – Thigh strain

Laurent Koscielny – Back (*Edit* Now Available) 

Kieran Gibbs – Thigh

Wojciech Szczesny – Ankle

Lukasz Fabianski – Back

Olivier Giroud – The Misfiring Gunner

Olivier Giroud ended last season as Ligue 1’s joint top scorer with 21 league goals and was signed by Arsenal in the 2012 summer transfer window for an initial fee of £9.6million to bolster the sides forward line.

At first there was no pressure on the 26-year-old to settle into his new life in London as a member of Arsenal, why would there have been? Robin van Persie was still an Arsenal player and although transfer negotiations looked frosty, Arsenal were quietly optimistic.

As we all know, this optimism soon changed to an empty feeling that Arsenal fans have become frustratingly familiar with. The Arsenal board felt that despite the key departure the team for next season was fine and that no reinforcements would be brought in (despite funds being available).

It was time for Giroud to step up to the plate as Arsenal’s number one striker, having never played in the Premier League or with his new teammates in a competitive match before.

Whether you believe Olivier was originally signed as a replacement for Robin van Persie or if he was signed as reinforcement for a depleted, and if I’m being honest, poor, crop of strikers, something has not clicked for the Frenchman in his Arsenal career so far. Why is this?

‘Replacing’ Van Persie was never going to be easy and it would have been foolish to have expected Giroud to do so immediately, but of course Arsenal is a big club and playing for a big club means big pressure from the fans who demand goals.

Although Olivier told reporters he was “not worried about the pressure” it was clear that the weight on his shoulders was huge and it was visible to see in his first few Premier League games.

The first day of the season should have seen the France international score his first goal against Sunderland, but instead he knocked the ball just wide. At Montpellier a year earlier he would have buried that shot and from Giroud’s facial expressions the pressure and frustration was there for all to see.

It was a similar story at Stoke City a week later, one clear cut chance which ended in the Frenchman driving a scorpion kick into the ground before it plopped over the crossbar, and of course that wonder strike that so nearly launched his Arsenal career on a positive note.

The talent is there, there is no question about that. Olivier’s movement off the ball is stunning and his supporting role in assisting his teammates is another key area of his game that is commonly overlooked by fans and pundits with the player racking up three assists this season already.

But he was not signed to assist teammates, he was signed by Arsenal to bury the ball into the net courtesy of his colleagues hard work, something which is not currently happening.

Having recently watched Arsenal’s latest abysmal performance against Norwich City, one part of Arsenal’s game clearly stood out. A lack of crosses into a lofty Giroud waiting for balls in the box.

Arsenal are trying to work the ball through into the penalty area, while this is a great tactic at times, Giroud thrives off of his strong aerial duel attributes and although Carl Jenkinson launched a few balls into the Norwich box, there were not enough similar balls for Giroud to truly shine.

The last two goals Giroud scored, for France and Arsenal, were both from crosses outside the area which found Giroud lurking in the middle waiting to pounce. If Arsenal utilize Olivier’s obvious talents then he will score a lot of goals, there is no doubt about that.

It is unfair to be putting so much pressure on Giroud so early in his Arsenal career, especially with his strengths not being currently addressed by the direction of his teams tactics, and with mounting pressure from not just Arsenal fans but taunting chants from rival fans the pressure will only grow.

Yes, he should have scored a few more goals than he already has but there is an extreme amount of pressure on the player, but have faith in Olivier, he is a proven goalscorer who is currently not being utilized to his full potential

The £35million Question – Will Arsenal spend big in January?

If yesterday’s loss to relegation favourites Norwich City told Arsenal supporters anything, it’s that reinforcements are a must in January if the team are going to challenge for anything above fourth place in the Premier League.

Various reports have suggested that Arsenal’s board have handed Arsene Wenger a war chest of  £35million to spend in the January transfer window, with players already starting to be linked with the club.

Unfortunately for Arsenal fans, there have been rumours that Wenger may not delve into this hefty sum of cash and bolster his squad in the winter window, however I believe this is untrue.

Wenger appears to have lost some faith in new signing Olivier Giroud as a short term replacement for Robin van Persie and now sees the Frenchman as his long term successor, while pacey winger Theo Walcott looks destined to leave the club in the window with Liverpool showing increasing interest in his services.

This points towards at least one or two players coming into the team in January, with another striker and another wide player the priority.

Atletico Madrid’s out of favour forward Adrián López has been hotly tipped as Wenger’s number one target for the January window, a player that I would personally welcome to the club with open arms.

Having played at left wing, striker, attacking midfield and right midfield already this season Adrián would in fact cover both a replacement for Walcott and a backup for Giroud (who would offer a different playing style), and with a reported buyout clause of around £14-15million he would be an absolute bargain.

Many fans are calling for Wenger to chase Athletic Bilbao’s towering striker Fernando Llorente, however with his playing style very similar to that of Giroud’s, paired with the fact that clubs like Juventus, Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid interested it would be unlikely that Arsenal would enter into a transfer dogfight for the Spaniard.

While much of the transfer speculation is focused on the search for another striker another area that Arsenal need to find more competition for is goalkeeper, with Wojciech Szczesny’s only competition for the role of first choice keeper being the unpredictable Vito Mannone.

An experienced keeper or another young talent (think Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marc-André ter Stegen) who could challenge Szczesny for the number one role would be a wise investment and promote stronger displays from a young crop of goalkeepers.

It would be foolish for Wenger not to spend the funds made available to him and although the side has some immense talents in the shape of Podolski, Wilshere, Cazorla and more there is a lot of room for improvement.

If Arsenal want to challenge for trophies in the second half of the season then reinforcements are needed, whether these reinforcements will arrive is a different matter altogether.

Gervinho – Wenger’s latest work of genius.

Arsenal’s versatile Ivorian forward Gervinho struggled to hit the ground running in the Premier League last year, but this season has been a completely different story for the 25-year-old.

One of the most attractive parts of Gervinho’s game is his ability to play across the entire front line, this season he has played at right-wing, left-wing and thanks to a lot of hard work in the offseason, at striker too.

This ability has given Arsene Wenger a very dangerous attacking force at his disposal with Spanish ace Santi Cazorla, German powerhouse Lukas Podolski as well as Gervinho all  able to switch positions on the front line throughout the game, terrorizing defenders.

Initially signed as a right-winger Gervinho has made a name for himself at striker this season with the player netting three goals in three appearances at the position, conversely on the right-wing this season he’s appeared twice and scored once.

It has to be said that with Santi Cazorla’s genius in the midfield is making the rest of the Arsenal forwards look phenomenal, but Gervinho’s ability is starting to speak for itself.

Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta are the pass masters of the Arsenal midfield, but surprisingly Gervinho is not far behind them. With a pass success rate of 87.3% so far this season, Gervinho is statistically a better passer than Lukas Podolski and Abou Diaby.

It would seem that Gervinho’s only problem so far this season has been nerves, particularly in front of goal, these nerves have led to his unpredictable performances that often bring a lot of criticism from Arsenal fans.

A great example of these nerves getting the better of the Ivorian was his poor first touch against Manchester City which would have almost certainly led to a goal.

Despite his mistake, Wenger was so impressed by Gervinho’s performance against Man City that he told Arsenal.com: “I liked what he did and it was in the back of my mind. It is interesting because he is such a great mover and he is so quick so when he is central,

“Once he gets ahead of the central defender it is difficult to catch him back.”

Gervinho is developing into an exciting striker and has definitely adapted to the style of the Premier League, Theo Walcott should be worried because it looks like his colleague on the wing has made the transition to the lead forward role and he is impressing more with every game he starts there.