As the weeks go by, I expect Arsenal fans will soon come to regret the club’s failure to sign a striker during the January transfer window.
Having been outclassed by Liverpool, the Gunners are now in the middle of the toughest run of games of their season. Will a lack of options upfront scupper their chances of proceeding in the Champions League, or topping the Premier League table?
Olivier Giroud has done a fairly good job this season, but he looked absolutely shattered against Liverpool and has been getting less and less effective as the season has progressed. It doesn’t help that the Gunners don’t have any half-decent replacements ready to step in when necessary.
Yaya Sanogo has spent most of the season out injured and Nicklas Bendtner just can’t be relied upon. With all of this in mind, it’s difficult to understand why Arsene Wenger didn’t strengthen this area of the squad when he had an opportunity.
Why, for instance, didn’t the Gunners make a move for Benfica’s superstar striker, Rodrigo Moreno? The Portuguese club are struggling financially and surely would have been willing to agree a deal had Arsenal coughed up enough cash.
In fact, as The Mirror note, Benfica have it so bad that they have agreed to sell Rodrigo to a Singaporean billionaire, Peter Lim for a £26m fee. What a strange state of affairs.
This begs the question: will Arsene Wenger be willing to move back in for Rodrigo in the summer, or will he find the player’s current situation a little off-putting?
I certainly hope that he continues to chase Rodrigo. Since moving to Benfica he’s scored 34 goals in 94 games, which is a healthy return for a 22-year-old. This season he’s already found the back of the net 8 times.
Unlike Olivier Giroud, he also has many qualities that tend to belong to Arsenal strikers. He’s got pace, technique and real flair to his game. The Gunners have plenty of talented midfielders on their books and I’m sure that they’d love to play alongside a striker who is as agile and adaptable as Moreno.
Whether Arsene Wenger will be willing to shell out £26m plus, however, remains to be seen.
What’s your take? Should Arsene Wenger attempt to take Rodrigo Moreno off of Peter Lim’s hands?
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