Arsenal have been linked with a move for Atletico Madrid striker, Mario Mandzukic, for quite some time. They were interested in the Croatian ace back when he was at Bayern Munich and Arsene Wenger still seems to have kept tabs on him since his move to La Liga.
It’s easy to see why The Professor might be interested. Mandzukic is a natural goal-scoring talent with the physicality and aerial strength to make it big in the Premier League. English football is particularly demanding and strikers used to the Spanish and Italian leagues sometimes fail to adapt. Mandzukic, on the other hand, shouldn’t have any problems in this regard.
In many respects, Mandzukic reminds me somewhat of Olivier Giroud. This is true in regards to his physical stature, his confidence in front of goal and his lack of pace. In some respects, however, he’s better than the Frenchman. For a start, he’s more difficult to bully off the ball, which seems to stick to him a little better than it does for Giroud.
He’s also less prone to choking in big games. That’s a quality that Arsenal could use in their current strikers.
According to The Metro, Arsenal are ‘set to make a new bid’ for Mario Mandzukic in the summer transfer window. The source suggests that Atletico Madrid values the player at £15.8m. If that’s true, The Gunners would be foolish not to snap him up.
Thus far this season, the Croatian star has managed to find the back of the net 20 times in 32 games. That’s a fantastic return for a player who really does seem to have hit his peak over the last 12-18 months.
If Arsenal are still on the hunt for a reliable source of goals this summer, Mario Mandzukic could be their man.
What’s your take? Would you like to see Arsenal spring for Mario Mandzukic? Are their current options good enough to see the course?
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