“Emirates Stadium” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by fakelvis
At the beginning of the season, most Arsenal fans were confident of challenging for the Premier League title. We had just signed Petr Cech and were being linked with moves for the likes of Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain but unfortunately, Arsene Wenger opted to place all of his faith in the inconsistent Olivier Giroud, makeshift forward Theo Walcott and the injury-prone Danny Welbeck. And not for the first time during the Frenchman’s tenure, Arsenal fell short in their pursuit of glory – eventually pipping north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to second spot behind champions Leicester City.
And while some of us chose to bask in Arsenal’s “triumph” over Spurs, we shouldn’t get too carried away. The Gunners failed, and that’s all there is to it. If nothing else, our shortcomings confirmed just how desperate we are to sign a world class striker this summer – especially now Danny Welbeck has been ruled out for up to nine months with a serious knee injury. In fact, Welbeck’s latest setback means that Wenger will almost certainly have to dip into the transfer market this summer and there are already plenty of rumours circulating regarding a few potential transfer targets.
Arsenal have clear striker targets in mind, insists Arsene Wenger. https://t.co/kwlLQ58Vmn pic.twitter.com/jiefbn9LCW
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 14, 2016
A lot of attention will be on the European Championship this summer and one player that isn’t involved may slip under the radar. Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette enjoyed another spectacular campaign, finishing second only to Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the Ligue 1 goalscoring charts. Lacazette is one of the best out-and-out strikers in European football and the Frenchman might consider a move to the Premier League – especially if the lucrative offer of Champions League football is on the cards.
At the time of writing, Arsenal are priced at 11/2 in the early bet365 Premier League betting markets and Lacazette would certainly help our chances of claiming a first title success since 2004. The Frenchman is a top talent and he would certainly suit Wenger’s free-flowing, attacking style of football. If nothing else, Lacazette would slot in well with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alexis Sanchez and our potent offense would have too much for the Premier League’s “lesser” sides.
The Gunners aren’t a million miles away from challenging for the title but we won’t stand a chance unless Wenger decides to invest in a world class striker this summer. We are crying out for a player like Lacazette – Giroud simply cannot cut it at the top level. With the Lyon striker leading the line, Arsenal could return to the summit of English football next season and win a first Premier League title since the days of ‘the Invincibles’.
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I suspect this is really wishful thinking. This year was Gunner’s best chance of winning the title. Next year will see a vastly changed Premier Man City Chelsea and Man Utd will be strong plus you cannot dismiss Leicester or Spurs. It will be a real fight to even make the top four.
He’s rubbish. Don’t base your opinion on YouTube alone. No one rates him highly over here. You’d be better off with Batshuayi from Marseille, but obviously I hope Spurs beat you to him…
Totally agree. I will add that if we play Giroud as our main striker we could not win the league. Not remotely possible.
You could sign 10 strikers and you Goons still won’t win the league, not now that Pep is in town… You’re a spent force.
Giroud scores only by accident, 15 matches without a single goal a striker in Arsenal FC first eleven team. It’s really a shame! However; I’d stick with him instead of bringing in Lacazette, who hasn’t done anything for his current club until now either.
It’s said that; “bad things differs”. Lol
Parisspur, I disagree with you. Lacazette has scored 20+ in back-to-back years – is Giroud capable of that? No.