Another season is almost over for Arsenal and as well as it being another year without a Premier League title for the fans to celebrate, we have once again been subjected to some, let’s say below par finishing from the forwards. Giroud had looked in the first half of the season as if he might finally prove to be that 20+ goal striker that we need but the second half has been a real shocker for him as the Frenchman’s stats have been the worst since he signed for Arsenal.
And apart from Alexis Sanchez who operates on the flanks anyway, none of the Arsenal front men look like getting the consistent goals a top club needs, so we are all hoping that Arsene Wenger agrees and finally plans to spend the money needed to bring in such a player.
Money alone will not guarantee us a great striker though, as they are pretty thin on the ground and they all want trophy success and individual accolades, no matter what they say, to be happy. That is where the Gunners have a great advantage in the shape of the selfless and sublime Germany international Mesut Ozil.
As long as Arsenal qualify for the Champions League, that is one major box ticked. Then a player might consider whether they are likely to win things and our recent back to back FA cups should help there as well as our consistently high placed league finishes.
Then a striker will probably look at how successful they will be themselves, both in terms of being the first choice centre forward and playing in a team that will create chances. With Ozil in the number 10 role Arsenal would be able to promise both of these things.
The fact that Ozil is still on top of the assist chart for the top 5 European leagues despite the number of chances we have squandered says a lot. And when you look at the table of top creators on Squawka.com you can see that the German is in a class of his own when it comes to actually creating, with his 113 key passes being twice that of great players like Lionel Messi and three times that of Leicester star Riyad Mahrez.
That should have any top quality and goal greedy centre forward licking his lips, so is Ozil the key to Arsenal securing the transfer of one of the world’s top strikers?