Thursday 25 July 2013

Arsenal's Potential Striker Options Seem Limited To Luis Suarez

Arsenal have being actively pursuing a new striker this summer to no avail so far. At first it looked like Gonzalo Higuain was the player they were most interested in, but they baulked at the asking price from Real Madrid. The latest news would seem to indicate Higuain has passed a medical at Napoli and will not be joining Arsenal.

Arsenal have concentrated their efforts on want away Liverpool striker Luis Suarez instead and seem intent on pursuing him until they get him. All the papers are currently reporting that Arsenal have offered £1 over £40 million which has meant the player has been given permission to talk to them. Despite being allowed to talk to Suarez the Arsenal offer seems to be well below what Liverpool are looking for and they will have to increase their offer. 

It's hard to know what price Liverpool will sell for as their official line is the player is not for sale. It's a complicated situation but with three years left on his contract there is no hurry for them to sell unless Suarez makes his position at the club untenable. It's a situation Arsenal have found themselves in far too often in recent seasons and the outcome has always favoured the player.

I have my doubts about Arsenal's willingness to pay a fee that will probably reach £50 million and also about Suarez's desire to join Arsenal. He has made no secret of his admiration for Real Madrid and I can't help thinking that's where he would really like to see himself playing next season. Arsenal are currently making all the running in the deal, but they could be just paving the way for Madrid to step in.

Suarez has done all he can to get a move from Liverpool starting with taking a bite out of Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic. In retrospect that bite looks like it might have been a premeditated move on his part in attempt to get a move from the club. The 10 game ban he got means he will miss the first six games of the new season no matter what club he is playing for.

He has so much previous as well that it's a huge risk for Arsenal or any club to buy him. Besides the Ivanovic incident he received a large ban for his racial abuse of Patrice Evra and Ivanovic wasn't the first player he sank his teeth into. He's a loose cannon and who's to say he won't go off the rails accidentally or even on purpose again. 

If Arsenal really do intend spending £70 million this summer on new players then they won't have too much left after spending £50 plus on Suarez. The need for other players besides a striker is pretty obvious but there won't be much left in the kitty to get those players. If the sales of Gervinho and Nicklas Bendtner go ahead it might add another £10 million to the kitty, but that still might not be enough.

It's hard to believe that Arsenal didn't make a big mistake when Ivan Gazidas told all who would listen to him that Arsenal had plenty of money to spend this summer. A move like that only lets other clubs know Arsenal can pay big fees and pushes up the price of any players they show an interest in. That money is burning a hole in their pockets right now as potential targets continue to make their way to other clubs.

There's a train of thought that Liverpool will be in no hurry to sell as Suarez is banned and won't be playing a league game before October. If they are to have any chance of replacing him they surely need to sell him as soon as possible so they can use the money to strengthen their team. If they leave it too late they could leave themselves very short in the striking department when the transfer window closes.

I would really prefer it if Arsenal didn't sign Suarez but they need a top class striker and he seems to be the one they want. As a player he's very good and a top class goalscorer too but the risks he brings with him are huge and he is a proven racist. Arsenal have a very diverse fan base and I don't know what signal siging a proven racist would send out to that fan base.

As I've said before though I will support anyone in an Arsenal shirt unless they do something undeserving of that support. If Arsenal send out the statement of intent that spending over £50 million on Suarez would do it could just be the dawning of a new era at the club. Maybe it will show that the purse strings have finally been loosened after the huge costs of paying for the new stadium and Arsenal are ready to be contenders again.

It certainly makes for an interesting time at the moment and although I think the majority of Arsenal fans are still against the signing of Suarez the number in favour of him is growing. After all the years of shopping in the bargain basement maybe some fans want to see the club splash out in the designer shops and buy some real quality regardless of the past of that quality..

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

No comments:

Post a Comment