From being spoiled for choice upfront, Arsenal now find themselves in a position where they’re running out of quality strikers. Arsene Wenger has shipped Lukas Podolski out on loan to Inter Milan and Yaya Sanogo looks to be on his way out (temporarily) too. Danny Welbeck has been forced out wide and Alexis Sanchez doesn’t have a fixed position. That leaves Olivier Giroud as Arsenal’s only out-and-out striker at this moment in time.
Of course, Arsene Wenger has plenty of flexibility within his current system, but it still wouldn’t surprise me to see him move in for another striker, whether it be this January or next summer. The Professor has always favoured attacking talent, after all. Why deal with the on-going defensive crisis that The Gunners have been suffering through, when you could sign a new centre-forward?
This brings me to The Metro‘s claim that Arsenal ‘are pushing to sign’ Atletico Madrid’s star striker, Mario Mandzukic. The Gunners were interested in the big centre-forward whilst he was still at Bayern Munich. Could Arsene Wenger get his hands on the Croatian talent now that he’s changed Leagues?
Who knows. Atletico Madrid won’t want to sell, but if Arsenal can put up enough cash, they could probably be convinced. The aforementioned source suggests that he’s currently valued at £25m. That kind of figure doesn’t seem to be outside of The Gunners’ financial reach. They spent a lot more on Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil after all.
As for whether he’d make an impact in the Premier League? I think he’d be a good fit. For a start, he’s a tall, physical presence who’s tough enough to deal with the rigours of English football. What’s more, he’s a natural goal-scorer. He had an excellent record at Bayern Munich and since moving to Madrid he’s found the back of the net 14 times in 22 games.
He’s an effective footballer who must surely be worth considering. It’ll be interesting to see whether Arsene Wenger moves in.
What’s your take? Would you like to see Mario Mandzukic in an Arsenal shirt?
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Mario manduzik is d key to our striking force we need too buy him
Sanchez nd manduzik dere combination will be okay