Arsene Wenger’s surprising reluctance to spend this summer – thus far parting with just £10million to sign former Chelsea No.1 Petr Cech – unsurprisingly has many doubting the Gunners’ Premier League title credentials for this season.
Indeed, Arsenal still seem a few key components short of a title-winning side when compared to the quality on display at Manchester City and Chelsea’s superlative team ethic.
But there’s still a week to go until the summer transfer window draws to a close at 6pm on September 1st and we know Arsene Wenger has plenty of money in the bank – enough to sign any player in the world, barring Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Lord Harris.
We also know that Le Professeur is no stranger to last-minute deals, with Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck arriving in north London on summer deadline day in 2013 and 2014 respectively, so could we see some late signings turn up at the Emirates this week?
Football Fancast takes a look at five players who might be in the frame for a last-minute move to Arsenal…
EDINSON CAVANI
The prevailing Arsenal transfer rumour to emerge from the tabloids over the last few days is that the north London outfit have turned their attentions to PSG’s Edinson Cavani after receiving a tacit snub from priority target Karim Benzema via Twitter. How modern of the Real Madrid striker.
The Uruguay international is certainly of a similar mould to his Bernabeu counterpart, boasting the strength, power and aerial ability adored in the Premier League and also well proven at a major club, with 56 goals in 96 appearances helping fire the Parisians to back-to-back Ligue 1 titles.
That tally epitomises what the 28 year-old does best – simply put, scoring goals. In addition to a one-in-two strike-rate for PSG, he conjured up a rather incredible 104 in 138 during three seasons with former club Napoli.
But is the 6 foot centre-forward a realistic target at this point in the transfer window? Well, it’s looking increasingly less likely that PSG will sell Zlatan Ibrahimovic as previously expected and the friction between the strikers – both battling for the lone front-man spot in Laurent Blanc’s starting Xi – has been well documented over the last year or so.
That being said, PSG’s valuation of Cavani could be an insurmountable stumbling block for Arsenal. They invested £55million in him just two summers ago and will expect further compensation if they’re to relinquish him so late in the transfer window.
GONZALO HIGUAIN
Following Napoli’s failure to qualify at the end of last term, Gonzalo Higuain will be the most talented and proven striker in Europe not plying his trade in the Champions League this season.
That suggests he might be whisked away from Stadio San Paolo before the 6pm deadline on September 1st and Arsene Wenger’s interest in the Argentina international is well known, having almost brought him to the Emirates from Real Madrid in summer 2013.
No doubt, the 27 year-old is a prolific goalscorer, recording of 217 goals in 459 outings from his spells with River Plate, Real Madrid, the Naples outfit and Abliceleste; which tends to see him billed as a somewhat limited fox-in-the-box poacher.
But in truth, Higuain is a more holistic presence than he’s often given credit for. He’s claimed eleven assists in 52 outings for his country and 15 over the last two campaigns in Serie A. In fact, he spent most of last season playing on the wing.
Napoli have continually insisted any potential suitor must activate the 6 foot striker’s £67million release clause, which admittedly is incredibly steep – especially considering Wenger refused to pay around half that sum two years ago.
But the sheer presence of the release clause at least gives the Gunners a valuation to try and work down from. Furthermore, Higuain rejected a one-year contract extension earlier this month, suggesting there might be some disagreement between player and board level Arsenal can take advantage of.
MARIO GOTZE
If there’s one major name still for the taking in the final days of the summer transfer window, it’s Bayern Munich’s Mario Gotze.
The German international is best famed for his winning volley in last summer’s World Cup final but his club career has taken quite the significant set-back since and he’s been surprisingly vocal about his disillusionment at the Allianz Arena throughout the summer.
Indeed, despite a decent return of 31 goals in 95 appearances, Pep Guardiola has often dropped the 23 year-old forward for Bayern’s most important fixtures – particularly in the Champions League – leading agent Volker Struth to claim the former Barca boss has ‘destroyed’ his client and Gotze to allege a breakdown in communications.
Arsenal are hardly in need of another attacking midfielder. In fact, almost their entire midfield consists of No.10s being played out of position to get them all on the pitch at the same time.
But that’s never stopped Arsene Wenger before and Gotze’s arrival, at the very least, would give the Frenchman more options in the attacking third whilst affirming the club’s ability to attract major names in the transfer market.
Under no immediate obligation to sell, however, Bayern could still demand anything upwards of £40million for 5 foot 9 attacker.
LARS BENDER
Francis Coquelin’s start to the season hasn’t been nearly as convincing as his emphatic form towards the end of last term, so we might see Arsene Wenger finally splash some dosh on an overtly physical, genuine holding midfielder in the next few days. Don’t all start rolling about laughing at once, now.
Earlier this week, reports linking the Gunners with Bayer Leverkusen’s Lars Bender once again re-emerged.
The 26 year-old is the epitome of Germanic industry, boasting stamina, grit, determination and tenacity in abundance, famed for his ball-winning abilities, last term averaging 2.9 tackles and 3.2 interceptions per match in the top flight alongside 4.4 tackles per match in the Champions League.
He’s well experienced too, as a 19-cap international who has made 39 appearances in European competitions, and a natural leader, currently donning the skipper’s armband at Leverkusen.
The Bay Arena outfit will be incredibly reluctant to sell their captain without much time to source a replacement. But rated at around £18million, the Germany enforcer is certainly within Arsenal’s financial reach.
GRZEGORZ KRYCHOWIAK
A potential alternative to Lars Bender and more realistically attainable from Arsenal’s perspective, the Gunners have been linked with Sevilla’s Grzegorz Krychowiak for much of the summer and with a £21million release clause in his contract there’s still plenty of time to broker a last-minute deal.
The Poland international was in sensational form during his debut campaign at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan last season, averaging 3.3 tackles, 3 interceptions, 2.1 clearances and 3.4 successful aerial duels per match in the league whilst helping Los Rojiblancos defend the Europa League title to earn a place in La Liga’s Team of the season.
He’s an old-fashioned screener – almost a third centre-back in front of the back four through his defensive qualities and imposing 6 foot 1 frame – which is precisely what the Gunners need to plug up those gaps on the counter-attack.
Krychowiak has insisted he’s by no means pushing for a move this summer with Sevilla now looking forward to a season in the Champions League.
But still a drastic step up from the Spanish outfit, it seems almost improbable he would reject the chance to join the Emirates ranks – providing Arsene Wenger stumps up enough cash to activate his buy-out fee, of course.