Whilst I’m sure many Arsenal fans were surprised that Arsene Wenger made any additions whatsoever to his squad this January, I’m sure as many are disappointed that he didn’t sign a new striker.
Nacho Montreal looks like another fine Spanish talent, but I can’t help but feel Arsenal’s biggest priority this January should have been a world-class forward. Indeed, re-enforcing this area needn’t have come at the expense of a new left-back to provide cover for the injured Kieran Gibbs.
Last year Arsenal went public with the terms of their brand new £150m commercial deal. It was believed that a significant portion of this money would be re-invested back into the squad. In other words, the Gunners have plenty of money to spend and there was surely, somebody, who fancied a move this January that could have improved this Arsenal side?
Why didn’t the Gunners fight harder for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar before the Dutchman agreed new terms with Bundesliga side Schalke 04? With David Villa warming the bench at Barcelona, why didn’t Arsene Wenger come up with the cash necessary to tempt Tito Vilanova to sell? These seem to be missed opportunities and should Arsenal fail to secure a top four finish, Wenger will have a lot to answer for.
But it appears Arsenal were in for a striker this January. According to The Metro, Arsenal were looking to secure a deal for Lorient forward, Alain Traore, but pulled out after the Burkina Faso star suffered a thigh injury.
This fills me with mixed emotions – whilst I’m glad to see Wenger isn’t blind to Arsenal’s needs, I can’t help but feel that he could be looking at players of a higher quality.
Yes, Manchester United are rumoured to be long-term suitors of Traore, but the fact that they’ve favoured established players like Robin Van Persie is telling. Their decision to go for a world-class striker last summer has more or less won them the League.
It would be a mistake for Arsenal to go off in the other direction. Traore, a £5m signing, wouldn’t exactly break the bank, but he would take up another place in this squad and lessen the likelihood of Arsene making further recruits in this area in the future.
His goal scoring record just isn’t that impressive. Yes, he looks like he could blossom into a decent talent, but there’s no point taking a gamble like this at this stage. It’s now or never for Arsenal and it’s about time they got serious in the transfer market.
What’s your take? Should Arsenal snap up Alain Traore this summer?
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This guy is lame,saw him in the afcon and he aint even close to being at an arsenal standard,