Opinion: Arsenal In No Need Of A New Striker Unless Giroud Leaves

Dec 6, 2016 at 6:02 PM

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Opinion: Arsenal In No Need Of A New Striker Unless Giroud Leaves

Following Alexis Sanchez’s impressive hat-trick at the weekend, it seems the last thing on Arsene Wenger’s mind would be buying a new striker. And yet The Sun claims Arsenal have opened talks with AC Milan about a £20 million bid for Carlos Bacca to strengthen the team’s attacking options.

It’s certainly not the first time Wenger has been linked with a striker going into a transfer window, but this might be the first time in years that buying one actually seems unnecessary. Here’s why:

They won’t be an improvement on Sanchezalexissanchez

Saturday’s performance against West Ham proved once and for all that Sanchez should be Wenger’s first-choice central striker, even when Olivier Giroud is fit. So what’s the point of bringing in Bacca?

The Colombian is a good player with an impressive scoring record — he has averaged close to a goal every other game throughout his career – and Wenger reiterated after the West Ham game that he considers South American strikers to be the best in the world. And even at the age of 30, £20m for a solid striker is pretty cheap these days.

But still, there doesn’t seem to be a logical place for him at Arsenal at the moment.

Sanchez is on course for a 30-goal season and it would be madness for Wenger to stray away from attack led by the Chilean at this point. The Gunners rely so heavily on Sanchez’s pace and energy up front, which so often has harassed defenders into mistakes this season.

Bacca is more of a traditional striker who is good in the box, and Wenger already has one of those in Giroud. The France international may not be happy about being used mainly as a substitute, but he has also shown just how effective he can be in that role by coming off the bench to score crucial goals against Sunderland and Manchester United. And he does provide Arsenal with a clear-cut “Plan B” against some teams where a more physical target in the box is needed.

Arsenal have plenty of options alreadylucas_perez_in_action_368150

Then there’s the small point of Wenger already having spent £17m this summer on Lucas Perez, the Spanish forward who has only started one Premier League game so far. Buying Bacca in January would essentially be saying it was a mistake to buy Perez in August, and there’s every indication that Wenger still has high hopes for the Spaniard.

And let’s not forget Danny Welbeck, who is nearing a return from long-term injury and could be back on the pitch in January. That will provide a fourth option for Wenger up front, and when was the last time the Arsenal boss had so many strikers to choose from?

Of course, given Welbeck’s recent injury history, it would perhaps be unwise to expect him to be a big factor for the Gunners even in the spring. Giroud and Perez have also struggled with injuries, but Perez has fully recovered from an ankle problem and Wenger has insisted Giroud’s current hamstring issue is only a short-term problem. So buying Bacca just as injury cover seems like a waste of resources — Arsenal already have plenty of players who are unhappy about being left on the bench.

Bacca only makes sense if Giroud leavescarlos-bacca-709133

So there seems to be only one possible scenario in which Wenger would buy Bacca — or any other striker — this season: if Giroud is so unhappy about being a substitute that he pushes for a move in January.

Giroud has acknowledged that he’s frustrated with current situation, but has also insisted he will fight for a starting place — at least until the end of the season. Though if Sanchez keeps scoring goals in December, he might need to rethink that. The Frenchman is also 30 and may not have time to wait much longer if he wants a move to another big club.

Giroud and Bacca are similar players in some ways, and as a like-for-like replacement the Colombian would make perfect sense. Whether he’s a step up on the Frenchman is far from certain, and Wenger would much rather keep the player who he has been moulding since 2012.

 

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