Arsenal’s striker hunt leads them to Argentine Serie A star
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Arsenal need to sign a striker if they want to compete for the Premier League title. They require a headline act in order to rival the Wayne Rooney’s, Sergio Aguero’s and Diego Costa’s of this league and must try again to lure one to the Emirates in January.
That is the widely-held view of every football pundit and Arsenal fan in the land but, crucially, isn’t shared by Arsene Wenger, the man who holds the key to the Gunners’ safe.
The Frenchman has resisted the urge to spend big on a central striker for so long that it would be a shock if he were to suddenly splurge on a new goal getter during the January transfer window. Wenger has been a vocal critic of the winter window in the past, insisting that it is almost impossible to find value for money.
Despite all that, gossip columns around the media suggest the former Monaco manager is ready to break from tradition and launch a sky-high bid for Inter Milan hero Mauro Icardi.
According to Italian outlet Tuttosport, Arsenal were interested in signing the Argentine during the summer. They supposedly had a £32m bid turned down for the former Barcelona youth player, then switched their attention to Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema.
But when the French international was unequivocal in dismissing the possibility of moving to north London, the Gunners were once again left to start the campaign without a marquee striker on their books. According to Tuttosport, they will look to remedy that with another Icardi bid in the New Year.
The 22-year-old has only netted four times in 11 league outings for the Nerazzurri this term, but saw his stock rise significantly when banging in 22 goals in 36 Serie A games last season.
That campaign, which landed him the division’s Golden Boot and saw him strike 27 times in all competitions, thrust the former Sampdoria star into the game’s upper echelons.
Manchester United and Chelsea both took a liking to the player on the back of those efforts, but it’s thought Arsenal will take the lead in returning to the San Siro in January to launch another bid in excess of £30m.
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