So that's it right? I mean we signed a replacement for RvP, made a profit and signed a player who at 25 is in the prime of his career... Well, not really. Don't get me wrong, Giroud has had a good season for a player who is playing his first season in the premier league. He scored 17 goals in 33 games for Arsenal, 11 of which were in the league.
Although Giroud is a very good player, I wouldn't say he's world class and even though he keeps reminding us that Bergkamp and van Persie also struggled in their first season, we probably need to sign a world class striker who has a different skill set to that of Olivier. With that being said, let us have a look at the first striker we have been heavily linked with.
Wayne Rooney
In the space of two years Rooney has submitted his second transfer request to Man utd, which indicates he isn't as happy as he probably should be. Without going into too much detail with regards to him being unhappy, It could have something to do with a certain dutch centre forward taking his place as the talisman of the team.. just a thought!. What doesn't help is, the man who managed him for the last 9 years has now retired and the new manager is his old manager, who he didn't really get along with; David Moyes, the same manager who took him to court due to allegations made by Rooney in his autobiography.
I couldn't care less if Rooney has issues with Moyes or he's gone from being Batman to Robin! The fact is he's a world class striker, at 27 years of age has 83 caps for England (scoring 36 goals in the process), is tried and tested in the premier league (no adjustment period needed) and has scored 214 goals during his career. Quite remarkable stats if you ask me. Did I mention he's only 27?.
Like I said, there are some of you that think this deal is impossible. One reason people think this is because of wages. Here is what Lionel Messi had to say about Wayne Rooney...
"We all know football players at the top level are blessed with high wages, it's no secret. But Rooney would play for 100 euros-a-week. You can see the fire in his eyes. It's that fire which makes him the best of the best."
Now I'm not trying to say we should offer Rooney 100 euros a week, nor is Mr Messi trying to literally say Rooney would play for 100 Euros a week! But you can see Rooney loves being on the football pitch and it maybe the case he is looking for a new challenge and if Arsenal offer £170,000-£190,000 a week, there is a chance he might accept based on the fact he will probably already have enough money to last him two lifetimes.
This deal makes sense for Arsenal, Rooney is a world class player and a world renowned name, his commercial value is enormous and his name = revenue in itself. For people who say 'why would Rooney move to Arsenal' well I'm certain nobody likes to play 2nd fiddle and at Arsenal Rooney would become the main man at Arsenal, the main striker (where he wants to play) and the focal point of the English core which consists of fellow internationals, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott, and Carl Jenkinson. There is also the attraction of living in London.
I believe this deal is possible but will require a lot of serious negotiation, however if Arsenal and the Arsenal fans are looking for a world class striker who fights like a bulldog on the pitch and is a good finisher, then Rooney may just be the ideal striker.
Stevan Jovetic
Have we not already signed him? the saga that never seems to end. We have been linked with Jovetic for what seems like an eternity now. Stevan Jovetic, the Montenegran striker who applies his trade in Serie A with Fiorentina is a similar player to Wayne Rooney in the way he links up well with those around him and brings others into play. At the age of 23, he's still developing his game and stats suggest he is not prolific as of yet. A return of 12 goals in 33 games this season backs up this fact; but like I said he's only 23 and has yet to reach the peak of his game.
Jovetic is a very skilful player who is quick on the turn, loves to dribble and take on players. He's definitely someone I can see integrating into our passing game based around vision and technical quality.
A downside to a potential transfer would be the fact he missed the whole of the 2010-2011 season with a cruciate ligament injury in his right knee which might mean he is injury prone in the future. That being said however, he has been relatively injury free last season.
Jovetic would be a fine addition to the squad, his link up play would be particularly important were he to join Arsenal. He is quite versatile, He can play on the left of a front three or as a centre forward.
Although he predominantly plays behind the main striker, Arsene Wenger is a master of turning wingers and secondary strikers into the main centre forward (Thierry Henry, Robin van Persie). His versatility and impressive skill set could well see him come to Arsenal this season. But like I said, its been a long drawn saga and where arsenal want to pay around £18-24 million, Fiorentina value him nearer to £26-30 million and the rumblings are he prefers a move to Juventus. Could turn out to be a masterstroke if he is indeed to become an Arsenal player.
Gonzalo Higauin
Higuain or El pipita, as he has been nicknamed, was born in France, but is an Argentine international with an impressive 20 goals in 32 appearances. He started his career with River Plate before he joined Real Madrid in 2007 for a fee of €12 million euros.
A clinical finisher with a deadly strike, Higuain has never really been a regular starter for Real Madrid, often coming off the bench, which makes his tally of 122 goals from 266 appearances even more impressive. He is 25 years old and is a natural goal scorer who also likes to assist.
I can see Higuain being the striker we sign, he has that killer instinct infront of goal that we have been lacking since van Persie left the club and he has already made his intention clear to Real Madrid that he will be leaving to try and become a regular elsewhere. Recently the rumours stated he had agreed to sign for Juventus (them again), this was however denied by the players Agent and the player himself, leaving the door open for a potential transfer to Arsenal.
Higauin has always been unlucky to be playing second fiddle to the likes of Raul, van Nistelrooy and Karim Benzema. When he has got his chance, he has always proved his worth, scoring crucial goals and providing assists that have won matches.
Real Madrid value him between £22-25 million and its not hard to see why.
David Villa
Four years ago, if you would have told me Arsenal are signing David Villa, I would have jumped with joy to levels beyond my wildest imagnination! fast forward to the year 2013.. I'll probably jump a little bit and sit back down. This is not to say David Villa isn't a classy player, it just goes to show that he's not the same player he was 4 years ago.
Villa signed for Barcelona In 2010 for €40 million. A fee that was justified by his amazing goal scoring record for Valencia between 2005-2010. Villa racked up 166 appearances for Valencia scoring 108 goals in the process.
A fantastic team player, who is also a decorated player, having won the European championships in 2008 (winning the golden boot in the process) and world cup with Spain in 2010. Villa has also won 2 la liga titles with Barcelona and has a winning European champions league medal, again with Barcelona.
After hearing all of that you would think David Villa would be top of our priority list, however this is not the case due to the fact he is now 31 years old and will soon be turning 32. He also suffered a broken Tibia at the world club cup in the 2011-2012 season which ruled him out of action for 8 months which makes a lot of people believe he wont ever be the same player he once was even though he ended up scoring 16 goals from 39 appearances this season (mostly coming off the bench).
Personally I wouldn't mind seeing Villa come to the emirates and I believe he would be a great asset for the team, at the age of 31 is he the player Arsenal need? I believe he could do an excellent job, but I wouldn't just sign Villa if we are going to sign him. He is mostly utilised on the left hand side of a front 3 by Barcelona and if Arsenal were to sign him and play him through the middle, it may bring him back to the form that made him Valencia's deadly talisman.
Villa would also be great for the likes of Yaya Sanogo, Joel Campbell, Ryo Miyaichi and some of the other younger players in their development.
Overall I believe that this is a make or break season for Arsene Wenger and he will be the first one to acknowledge that Arsenal need a few top notch signings to challenge the likes of Manchester Utd and Manchester City.
A top goal scorer is a must and should really be a priority. Out of the four I have mentioned above, Personally I would like to see the following in order of priority:
1) Wayne Rooney
2) Gonzalo Higuain
3) David Villa
4) Stevan Jovetic
I just think Wayne Rooney is the kind of striker we need. A real battler, someone who wont be afraid to get into the opponents face, but also someone who would create goals as well as score plenty too.
Ivan Gazidis has come out when asked if Arsenal could afford to sign a player for a fee of more than £20 million and pay £200,000 wages and in his own words stated "Of course we could do that. We could do more than that. We have a certain amount which we've held in reserve. We also have new revenue streams coming on board and all of these things mean we can do some things which would excite you. What excites Arsene isn't necessarily what excites you."
Lets just hope Wayne Rooney excites Arsene Wenger as much as he has come out and said he does! I think a signing of Rooney's stature would bring Arsenal into a new calibre of fearsome counter attacking and creative link up play alongside the likes of Wilshere, Cazorla and Rosicky is a mouth watering prospect.
To be honest I wouldn't mind either of the four strikers mentioned, Higuain would be deadly in front of goal as would David Villa. Jovetic would provide a creative spark, similar to that of van Persie. However for me, Rooney would be the best option, he possess all the qualities of the 3 other candidates, but has a lot more to his game in terms of vision, graft and physical quality. He would also not require any time to adjust and would most likely hit the ground running. I can see Rooney scoring a lot of goals for Arsenal and how great would it be to be buying from one of our rivals as opposed to selling one of our stars to them.
Do you think Wayne Rooney is the striker we need? Do you believe the other 3 would offer the team more? or do you have another striker in mind?
Please feel free to share your views and opinions and you can also follow me on twitter @R7KingKhan to discuss all things Arsenal and all things football related.
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Rahman (Ray)
