Arsenal pursuing Napoli star – but is it the right one?

At the moment, Arsenal seem to have adopted the disappointing habit of targeting a variety of different club’s second choice strikers.

It’s clear to just about everybody, including fans and pundits alike that Arsenal are in dire need of some reinforcements upfront.

Arsene Wenger permitted Robin Van Persie to leave last summer, signing Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud to attempt to fill the gap that the Dutchman would leave. But given that Wenger has confessed he has always viewed Lukas Podolski as a left winger and the fact that Olivier Giroud is a fairly limited forward, it should have been clear to the Professor that further additions would have to be made.

Unfortunately, he opted against this and Arsenal have struggled this season. They’re currently loitering outside the top four in the Premier League table, have crashed out of the Carling Cup, have a tough re-match against Swansea City to look forward to in the FA Cup and little hope in the Champions League.

In other words, things could be better. But they won’t get better unless Arsenal purchase a striker.

This brings me to my earlier claim. In the last few weeks, Arsenal have been linked to the likes of Eduardo Vargas and Adrian Lopez, two strikers who play for clubs that are best known for other star forwards. Adrian Lopez plays for Atletico Madrid, where Radamel Falcao plies his trade and Vargas plays for Napoli, home of Edinson Cavani.

Now it’s my opinion that Arsenal need to be pursuing the likes of Falcao and Cavani if they want to be competing at the top level. The fact is however, the club just isn’t run in the kind of way that would permit Arsene Wenger to drop £30-50m on a single player.

The Express claim that Arsenal have offered Napoli £800k to bring Eduardo Vargas to the Emirates as part of a loan deal.

This kind of move smacks of desperation to me. Just look at Vargas stats: 13 appearances last season, 0 goals, 15 appearances this season, 3 goals. Hardly ground-breaking stuff and hardly Arsenal standard.

Now I realize this player has a rather prestigious background (he was a runner up for South American Footballer of the Year back in 2011) and that he sometimes plays out on the wing. He’s also 23-years-old and has time to develop and get better.

But the truth is, Arsenal need the real deal and they need him now. Vargas’ record just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

In other words: I’m not expecting Arsenal to sign Edinson Cavani, but that shouldn’t mean fans have to put up with Eduardo Vargas. Hopefully the search for an Arsenal quality striker is continuing as we speak.

What’s your take? Would Eduardo Vargas be a good addition for Arsenal this January?

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