He may not be the big name, top quality striker that many Arsenal fans were hoping that Arsene Wenger would bring in to the club this summer, but with just a day left of the transfer window, I think we could do a lot worse than to go for the QPR centre forward Charlie Austin.
Before you dismiss this out of hand Gooners, bear with me and I will explain. Unless the boss has some stunning deal lined up for an Edinson Cavani or a Gonzalo Higuain, the Gunners will not be able to sign a significant improvement on Olivier Giroud. So what we are looking for is another option to compete with and cover for the Frenchman.
Austin scored 18 goals at better than a goal every two games in his first season as a Premier League player and the fact that he did it for a club that was getting beaten all the time and was relegated should be even more impressive. Check out this stats comparison between Giroud and Austin last season which shows the QPR man not far behind on some factors and winning on others, such as total score, attacking score and shooting accuracy.
He may not have the same technical ability and link up play but he is a finisher and at around £15 million, this transfer would not really be a big gamble for Arsenal, but more like taking out an insurance policy. If Giroud gets injured and Wenger has signed no one, would we then be wishing that he had signed any decent striker? So why not just take the punt and bring in this proven goal scorer now?