Kokorin Arsenal move smacks of desperation from Wenger
Published:
Gary Neville and Thierry Henry debated about whether Arsene Wenger’s decision to not sign a combatative holding midfield player was ‘arrogance’ or ‘belief’ on Monday Night Football this week. Well, far from becoming too embroiled in that debate, that question is something that can also be asked around the subject of a striker.
It is widely accepted that the Gunners are a world class striker short of being genuine title contenders (they’re 11/2 to be crowned champions). Karim Benzema has been the man most linked with a switch to north London but after he moved quickly to dispel those rumours, it’s hard to think who else is available.
It seems Wenger emphatically answered that question. The French boss is set to sign striker Aleksandr Kokorin if the days papers are to believed. Ahhh, we can see you, punching his name into Google and wondering who the hell he is, a bit of a worry if you’re an Arsenal fan hoping for a big name proven goalscorer.
The Dynamo Moscow forward is no mug, far from it. He has scored almost 30 goals in his last three seasons for his club, unfortunately that is combined. The Russian is a key part of the national team and was one of the few players who came away from the World Cup having made an impact.
However, he’s hardly Benzema or Edinson Cavani. He’s no upgrade on Olivier Giroud and he has never scored more than 10 league goals in a single campaign. In fact, it could be argued that he is more at home as an attacking midfielder, not exactly an area in which Wenger needs reinforcements.
This is hardly a move to get fans excited. If indeed the Arsenal manager has that much belief in Giroud and Theo Walcott to fire his side to the title then that is to be admired but admiration does not win the Premier League.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
Fancy a flutter? Sign up today to claim up to £50 in free bets.
