With the quotes from Real Madrid striker Karim Benzma’s agent Karim Djaziri that the player is ‘1000%’ staying at the Spanish club, it may be time for the Gunners to start looking at some attacking alternatives. It’s clear that Arsenal’s reported interest in Benzema shows that the club are only after the highest calibre of players possible to lead the line, so we’re going to take a look at the more upper echelon talents of the football world.
Alexandre Lacazette
We start off with a fellow Frenchman and the talisman for Benzema’s former club Lyon. Alexandre Lacazette simply tore up Ligue 1 last season, scoring 27 goals in 33 games. Lacazette’s blistering pace and clinical finishing was one of the main reasons Lyon came so close to reclaiming the French title from PSG – his performances in the league winning him the Ligue 1 Player of the Year Award.
Lacazette also, finds himself at the young age of 24, meaning he has yet to even hit his peak, and is likely to improve even further. If Benzema is off the cards, Lacazette would be a good acquisition. However some fans wanting an instant impact from a world class talent may feel left wanting by the Frenchman. The demands of the Premier League are much more than that of Ligue 1, and Lacazette did struggle last year against the big teams of French football, scoring no goals against the top 5 sides in the division. Added to this, Lacazette recently pledged his future to Lyon, making a deal seem unlikely. However, as we’ve seen with Fabian Delph this summer, a players word means nothing, and if a bid of around £35m came in for Lacazette it’d be hard for the French team to say no.
Gonzalo Higuain
Higuain is surely a name most Gunners are sick of hearing. Back in the summer of 2013 the Argentinian striker came incredibly close to a move to North London, but at the last minute the striker instead moved to Italian club Napoli from Real Madrid. This hurt a lot of Arsenal fans at the time who were pining for a class signing at the time. Higuain proceeded to do OK in his two seasons at Napoli, scoring 17 in 32 games in the 2013/14 season and 18 in 37 in 2014/15. Despite the excitement of Arsenal fans in 2013 at Higuain’s potential arrival, signing him this summer would prove underwhelming for a lot of Gunners now. Higuain hardly set Serie A on fire in his two seasons there, and has since suffered a string of high profile misses.
These include a one on one miss against Germany in the World Cup final, a penalty miss against Lazio that would’ve secured Napoli Champions League football last season, and another penalty miss in the Copa America final. This has gained Higuain the reputation of a high pressure ‘bottler’ – a trait you cannot have whilst playing at the highest level in English football. Added to this is the big price tag Higuain is rumoured to require. This makes Higauin probably the least sensible choice if Wenger is in the market for a new striker.
Edinson Cavani
Cavani is another name Arsenal fans are surely familiar with. Similar to Higuain, if Arsenal would’ve captured the Uruguayan hitman a few years ago, fans would’ve been incredibly excited. Cavani established a reputation at Napoli as one of the world’s best frontmen as he led the line in what was one of the most exciting sides in years. However, since Cavani’s move to Paris Saint Germain 2 years ago for a reported £55m, the striker has slightly underwhelmed some at the French club.
The 28-yeay-old went from scoring 30+ at Napoli to around 15-20 in his two seasons at PSG. This isn’t a bad thing, as Cavani has found himself in the unfamiliar position of playing on the wing to compensate for PSG’s star man Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Cavani, at the age of 28, still has plenty to give and could prove a great asset to Arsenal’s title challenge. If the rumours are true of Cavani’s unhappiness in the French capital and PSG’s willingness to offload him are true, then it is possible he could move for a significantly reduced price.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Another Dortmund player Arsenal could possibly target as an alternative to Benzema is Gabonese striker is Aubameyang. Also a rumoured target for Liverpool and Tottenham, Aubameyang really caught the eyes of Europe’s big clubs last season after a series of very good performances. Aubameyang was probably best player last year, remaining consistently excellent in a season where Dortmund’s best players either underperformed or missed a lot of games due to injury.
16 goals in 31 games for the German team last season helped them turn their season around and gain Europa League football in Jurgen Klopp’s last term at the club. In fact, Aubameyang showed Arsenal fans just what he could last season when the Gunners visited the Westfalenstadion in the UEFA Champions League group stages. Aubameyang put in a man of the match performance – tearing Arsenal’s defence to shreads with his blistering pace and constant counter attacking threat. It’s been reported that the Gabon international would require around a £32m fee and that the player could be seeking a new club to take him another step further. Like Lacazette, some Gunners may be disappointed with the signing, as although impressive, Aubameyang is not in that top bracket of strikers that you could put the likes of Benzema in. As well as this, Aubameyang has asserted his desire to stay in Dortmund, despite the reported interests of other clubs.
Marco Reus
Much of Arsenal’s rumoured attacking targets have been of strikers to replace current first choice Olivier Giroud, however Arsenal could target the pacey Dortmund winger Marco Reus to bring out the best in the Frenchman. Having both Alexis Sanchez and Marco Reus beside him, as well as Mesut Ozil will surely provide Giroud with enough opportunities to score many goals and propel Arsenal to a serious Premier League title challenge.
In a Dortmund team as well without Champions League football, it could be as good a time as ever to tempt him away from his boyhood club. Nevertheless, this won’t be easy as Reus recently signed a new long term contract with the German club, and the Gunners will certainly face lots of competition for Reus’ signature.
Robert Lewandowski
If Benzema is truly unavailable, the only possible slightly viable player to replace him is Robert Lewandowski. Alongside Benzema Lewandowski fits into that bracket of the world’s elite strikers. Lewandowski was key in Dortmund’s ‘golden period’ during which they won the league in 2011, the double in 2012 and finished second in the Champions League final in 2013. His goals greatly elevated the team, especially in the 2012/13 season where he managed to get an astonishing 24 in 29 games. Despite what has been largely considered an average first season for new team Bayern Munich, he still managed 17 goals in 31 games, which shows the sky high standards expected of him.
It is even arguable that Lewandowski would be an even better signing than Benzema, with his finishing from all ranges and angles known to slightly exceed that of the Real Madrid forward. It is certain that Benzema or Lewandowski’s potential arrival to the Emirates would propel Arsenal to another level, but the reason Benzema has taken priority is the unlikeliness that Lewandowski would move. The main rumours that have emerged about the Pole leaving have been speculation that he is unhappy at the club. This seems unlikely as Lewandowski is consistently leading the line at one of the best clubs in the world, and it also seems implausible that Bayern would even consider selling the talented 26-year-old.
There you have it, six striking alternatives Arsenal could target if Benzema is truly unavailable.
