Is it too late for Arsenal to pull off this £30m deal?

All the back-and-forth concerning Arsenal and Gonzalo Higuain is beginning to get a little tiresome.

In a summer where Arsenal desperately need to strengthen, the club’s sluggish approach to transfers may well prove seriously detrimental.

Transfer targets like Stevan Jovetic, Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez seem to be ‘done deals’, only to flit out of prominence. That’s been the story of Arsenal’s summer so far: a lot of hard work, for little reward.

The Gunners aren’t the only club to struggle in this summer’s transfer window. David Moyes’ Manchester United have also been keen under-bidders (the whole Cesc Fabregas affair is laughable), but Arsenal have a much weaker squad than the current Premier League champions.

The Papers would have us believe that the Higuain deal went cold, because Real Madrid changed their asking price from £24m to £32m. Yet Higuain has publicly stated on a couple of occasions that he wants to leave the Bernabeu this summer. Why would Real Madrid work so hard to keep him?

Whatever the reason behind it (some claim that it’s the Gunners interest in Luis Suarez that is holding up the deal), you can’t help but feel that Arsenal could have done more.

It’s now approaching crunch time. According to The Mirror, Real Madrid have accepted a £30m bid for Higuain from Rafa Benitez’s Napoli. It’s also believed that the Argentine has asked for a few days to mull over his future. It seems things are finally coming to a head.

This puts Arsenal in a rather awkward position. Gonzalo Higuain would inordinately improve the Gunners’ squad, but £30m is an awful lot of money. Arsene Wenger is notoriously tight-fisted and would probably break out in a rash at the thought of splashing so much cash.

Still, if the Gunners aren’t keen on spending that much money, perhaps other arrangements could be made. La Liga clubs are used to paying for transfers in installments and Arsenal could offer Real a ‘sell-on clause’, or certain bonuses for good performances from Higuain.

Either way, it’d be disappointing if the Gunners let this one slip. Whilst Olivier Giroud has impressed during pre-season, he tends to shy away against bigger opposition. Gonzalo Higuain, on the other hand, is a big game player with bags of experience at the top level. He’s also a natural goal-scoring talent, who’s significantly more mobile than Giroud.

If Arsene Wenger can pull off a spot of his negotiatory magic, Arsenal will be in a much stronger position when next season rolls round.

What’s your take? Should Arsenal let their deal for Gonzalo Higuain slip?

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