Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United has had a double consequence: it will have sapped the Gunners of their confidence and spurred the Red Devils back into the title race. One thing’s for sure, the result will have lasting ramifications over the course of this season.
Given the failures of Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City that same weekend, the Gunners trip to Old Trafford provided them with an opportunity to open a major lead up at the top of the Premier League table. Instead they fumbled the ball, turned in a tired looking performance and handed the impetus back over to their rivals.
There’s now only a two point gap between Arsenal and their closest rivals, Liverpool. As we move into the Christmas period, we’re really going to begin to see whether the Gunners are in this for the long haul.
After that, they’ll have an opportunity to reach into the January transfer window and snap up a striker. And that’s exactly what ex-marksman Alan Shearer has recommended. Check out these quotes:
“They [Arsenal] looked a bit leggy, they looked a little bit lethargic on Sunday at Old Trafford, and there wasn’t the fizz and the buzz around the midfield we have seen in recent games.”
He went onto suggest that Arsenal could go on to drop out of the title race, unless: “you were to give them a world class centre-forward like Benzema. Then people might have to start revising their opinion.” (Source: The Mirror)
Whilst Alan Shearer isn’t the most exciting pundit, he does know what he’s talking about when it comes to strikers.
It’s been suggested that Benzema could be available for £22m this January. That’s a lot of money, but it’s certainly not outside of Arsenal current financial range.
The Gunners have a new found ability to compete for top players and Benzema certainly registers in this category.
With Olivier Giroud essentially handling Arsenal’s striking duties on his own, a signing of this nature has become damn near imperative. There won’t be many strikers to choose from this January, but Benzema is top class. As Shearer noted, he could be the difference between Arsenal being title contenders and title winners.
What’s your take? Should Arsenal heed Shearer’s advice and sign Karim Benzema?
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