It is definitely the biggest and most exciting of all the Arsenal transfer rumours doing the rounds at the minute and even though the transfer of Karim Benzema from Real Madird to the Gunners may have seemed just a pope dream at the beginning of the summer, there was a growing belief that it might happen.
The theory put forward by many of the Spanish sports papers was that the France international’s face did not really fit in with the plans of the new Madrid head coach Rafa Benitez. They were suggesting that either Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo would take the centre forward role and that Benzema was not the kind of player Benitez wanted in a supporting role.
But our hopes were still resting on the Spanish club signing a replacement and that would allow us to go for Benzema. That replacement forward was supposedly going to be the Germany international Marco Reus and if that is true then I have some bad news for you. Sky Sports have reported confirmation from Reus’ representatives that the 26-year old has committed his future to Borussia Dortmund.
They said, “We read the rumours that are circulating about an alleged transfer for Marco.
“We can say with certainty that the player is having a wonderful time at Dortmund. He is flattered by the interest of many European teams, but he’s recently decided to stay in Dortmund.”
So unless Benitez finds another player top replace Benzema, is that the end of our top transfer hopes?
just pay them what they wants and we can sign Ben
45m should do the trick
If they drop the price to below 30 mil it is probably a wise move. Otherwise, take the 45-50 mil and buy a fantastic winger and solid DM to backup Coq.
This would help the team much more than bringing in a striker who will get 2 or 3 goals more than Giroud. Benzema’s stats don’t lie. He had 22 goals in 44 starts and 1 sub. Those are Giroud-type numbers.
I agree with you on Benzema with his poor scoring record,it’s only because he plays for Real Madrid people call him world class when he isn’t,he’s a Florentino Perez favourite that’s why he’s still at The Bernabeu
You keep banging on that Benzema is worth less than 30mil and only offer up a goal tally to judge him by. It’s clear you have a deranged view on what makes a ST valuable, but even if we were to simply reduce the two to how many goals they score (your only argument) then Benzema is head and shoulders clear of Giroud. 7 of his last 8 seasons Benzema has scored 20+ goals whilst Giroud has managed it 3 times in the same time frame, with one of those coming in Ligue 2 of France.
To suggest Benzema is merely a ST who offers 2 or 3 more goals per year than Giroud is fragrant idiocy. There’s a dozen more aspects to being a ST and Benzema excels in literally every one compared to Giroud. Your clear dislike of Benzema is so obvious, and frankly pathetic at this point.
I agree with Mohawk,
Giroud and Benzema are no Strikers, they are both typical big strong Center Forwards, great target players but no strikers.
Both of them are doing great in the role of Center Forwards, but neither one will ever be a great striker.
Yea that guy Benzema will never amount to anything, you right.
You suffer from GDS. Giroud Derangement Syndrome. I causes sufferers to hold an over-inflated view of any striker that might be slightly better than Giroud simply because Giroud is not #1 striker quality for Arsenal. Unfortunately, Giroud’s limitations do not make other slightly better strikers into superstars. you need counseling.
No I simply have eyes and have a good enough grasp of football to understand Giroud is simply a good option to have but wouldn’t be a starter for any of the top 15 clubs in Europe, whereas Benzema has been in Real’s first XI for 5 years.
Name any attacking player for Real Madrid in the last decade, who’s lasted 2 or more years in the team, that wouldn’t make our first XI today. You’re just a numpty who makes up some faux syndrome to hide the fact your view is out-argued at every level. Benzema beats Giroud with every statistic available, and then more importantly anyone who watches either play appreciates just how much better Benzema is.
will never knw why fans here don’t understand how important giroud is to our game. in his 1st match for us at home to sunderland, podolski started and it was like one of dose fustrating arsenal match until giroud replaced hm wen we created abt 3 times d chances previously created. although he missed a clear chance but there was obvious improvement in our play.
we were without him for d 1st part of last season and we knw our point tally den and how Sanchez was overworked. hate him or not if we don’t get a target man beta Dan hm wch re not so many….I can’t see him losing his shirt for the next 3yrs.
maybe it’s abt the team Dan individual player. Chelsea won last season not because of Costa but the major work was don’t towards d end of d season by Terry, cahill, and Ivanovic who as dey were defending we chipping in important goals.
dat being said, I think Wenger missed it by not buying a cover or some1 to challenge le coq, we re le Coq injury away from crisis….I hope not…and I pray flamini leaves…..he has neva been our quality since he came back.
dis dat dan den d whaaaaaat come on man !!!!!
I’ve always been a fan of both Real and Arsenal. I’ve always said Benzema costs Real titles. If you watch Laliga, you will realise how he over misses goals. The only aspects where I think he’s better than Giroud is ball holding and vision (Giroud and Walcott easily lose the ball) and also the fact that he may cause more phsycological fear than Giroud. Otherwise, he’s not a prolific goal scorer.
Pope dreams 🙂
Benzema Reus Vidal
Dybala Martinez Higuain
Kheidra Schneiderlin Pogba Draxler
La Cazette, Pedro, Kondogbia
Krychowiak Semper.
A-men 🙂
Is the Pope a goober then?
Off to smoke my pope..
There’s no disputing the fact that Giroud is an integral part of our team and style. He does however need to have someone of higher pedigree so that he can up his game considerably so as not to lose out on first team.
So getting a new striker is a win win.
We got thar malen kid,
Wenger’s Chequebook has since been locked up unless something extraordinary turns up. He’s now busy filling the U17s & U19s ranks for future profits if they do well. But I told you so some weeks ago that Petr Cech would be the only piece of meaningful business our Manager was going to do this end of the transfer window. I’m still hoping!
But here is Wenger’s thinking:
DFM: Coq, Arteta, and the 17 yr old Eastern European he got last year, Hayden perhaps.
Striker: OG, Theo, Akpom, Iwobi
But are these enough to make us serious title contenders? Absolutely not!!!
I’m actually bewildered people could actually think we’d acquire a first class head of our academy and fans think Wenger has anything to do with youth recruitment…
We don’t have a world class striker but atleast we have depth in that position and also many goalscorers in the team. DM is the position that really concerns me. I wouldn’t even include Arteta and flamini in d squad, which means dere is absolutely no cover for le coq. Just one injury away from crisis.
I think if PSG get Di Maria, we get Cavani. Maybe this was what Lord Harris was talking about.
Muzzi Ozcan has tweeted that Benzema to Arsenal is 100% not happening. He didn’t say that his “big news” is off the table, but he’s been told to keep quiet about the ongoing deal. He could be messing, but having spoken to him a couple weeks ago I’m pretty adamant he was involved/had his ear to a major movement. I don’t think it was Benzema or he’d have said the deal was off instead of saying that Benzema isn’t coming. I get the feeling no more strikers are moving this summer…unless Cavani or Lacazette decide to move.
i don’t believe Benzema is worth anything more than £35m..if anything then leave him.better strikers like costa ,van persie, lewadosky and martinez traded for far far less than the said £45!
Madrid are bullying us because they know how desperate we want him.
i think benzema is just but slightly above Giroud.
look at real Madrid midfield wealth.how would a striker(middle class) not score 20+ goals with such talented assisters assisting him in a league of three strong opponents and 15 weak opponents? even giroud would score 20+ goals for real playing in Spain!
Compare their France statistics where they have the same opponents and same midfield backup
benzema- 4953 mins (25 goals)ave of 2.2—-2007-2015
giroud- 1751 mins (10goals) ave of 1.94—2011-2015
slightly alike statistics
putting into account the last five games for France where the team has not had major changes,Benzema has scored 10 goals in more mins(1923 mins) to Girouds 9 goals in less minutes(1289)
NB..BENZEMA played more minutes for France in the last five game than Girouds entire career for France minutes
We don’t need to spend £30m or more on a striker,believe me the striker we need is not the big names but the one who will score goals for us and i am sure with ozil and cazorla ordinary £8m cicharito is the answer to that. You need to watch this guy,his presence in the box is a nightmare for any defence line.check his cameo at real madrid on loan last season. Take a look at it if he is not good enough real madrid will not take him on loan he was only kept on the bench because they are star sturded and he was only there on loan.
*/correction on my comparisons.
average for Benzema per game is 0.45
while Giroud tops at 0.51 goals per game
NB..NOT THE LAST FIVE GAMES BUT THE LAST FIVE MAJOR TOURNAMENTS
BENZEMA:
MIN/GOALS
2015 France FRI 90 0
2014 Brazil France WOC 450 3
2014 Brazil France WQE 613 2
2014 France FRI 4
2013 France FRI 278 1
GIROUD:
MIN/GOALS
2015 France FRI 222 1
2014 Brazil France WOC 165 1
2014 Brazil France WQE 492 2
2014 France FRI 260 3
2013 France FRI 150 2
Verdict…Benzema is only but SLIGHTLY better than Giroud .
Lewadosky is the only option that looks promising that can guarantee goals and improve arsenal..cavani may flop in england and benzema will score but just slightly above giroud
Benzema has far more to his game then goals!!!!!! His shot conversion is 22% to girouds 12% his also creates a hell of a lot more chances, with an average of 8-11 per game where as giroud has been no more then 4 last season, he also beats giroud with ran ons and knock downs and also beats giroud with asists
He creates 8-11 chances per game?? So more than Santi and Ozil combined?
Sorry i got that wrong, in his best game he created 8-11 while giroud best hasnt been more then 4….his actual average per game is 1.5 which is still higher then girouds 1, benzema also has a better passing accuracy
You all think a team who scored 2 less goals than the champions have problems putting the ball in the back of the net? City scored 83 league goals and Aguero only scored 26, Chelsea scored 73 and Costa only scored 21 and what about the remaining goal? Ever noticed the team improved since Coq came in and we also conceded less goals? Yes a world class finisher is highly welcome, but maybe we desperately do not need a striker as the whole media claims. What we need is find the balance between defence and attack. I’d welcome a new DM more than a new STRIKER tho…
Opinions divided… What do y’all think?
We need a world class finisher so we can take more points from the teams around us, couldnt beat chelsea last year, couldnt beat utd last year, drew with the spuds
If Benzema isn’t world class who is. You all seem to forget how he played in the el classic against Barcelona last year. He was the best on the pitch by far. I don’t even know a game where Giroud has been the best player for our team let alone against a top quality side. Of course he’s going to do well because he plays for ARSENAL but, the fact is he is our worst main striker for the last 15 years and Benzema will be an upgrade in every single department in comparison to Giroud
we all know that benzema is better than giroud and we all know that wenger is not gonna buy him. just stop dreaming my fellow gooners
Benzema is not coming to Arsenal. He never said he was coming and there is no evidence that there ever was a deal in place for him. Arsene Wenger has said numerous times that it takes 3 factors for a transfer to occur: a willing buyer, a willing seller, and a willing player. There is no evidence that all three of these factors were ever in place for Benzema. I don’t understand why every season there are these transfer rumors for Arsenal with many players and many of the Arsenal fans on this site jump on the bandwagon. We should know by now that these rumors are just poppycock.
Arsenal have a pretty good team starting this season. It is stronger than last year. By how much is yet to be determined. Preseason has looked good, but that is preseason and shouldn’t cause many high hopes just based on that. We’ll have indications in the near term as to whether the improvements that Arsenal have made are sufficient to counter the improvements made by City, Chelsea, and United. If not then Arsene will have to make another move or two if the desire to win the EPL or CL is really burning in him. I think we should be patience and see what the team looks like against the opposition in the next couple of weeks, and then see what moves AW makes.