Even though Arsenal beat Chelsea yesterday to pick up a third trophy from our pre-season preparations, some Arsenal fans were left disappointed after Arsene Wenger declared in his post match interview, reported by the Arsenal website, that the transfer rumours linking Arsenal with the Real Madrid and France striker Karim Benzema are very unlikely to come true.
Wenger said, “No, nothing is happening. Honestly no. I don’t know who brings that up. Is it Spanish media or English media? I don’t know.”
Now while this does not mean 100 percent that Wenger will not sign the Frenchman, it does sound as if he is not trying to right now and a lot depends on the player and Real Madrid. I personally think that it might still happen towards the end of the transfer window but if not, then I do not think the boss is looking for other options.
Some people saw the game yesterday as proof that we need another centre forward, because Theo Walcott did not have the same sort of impact that he has in his last few games and because he was preferred to Giroud. But I disagree. I think we should have started with the big man down the middle and Walcott on the right and I think Giroud´s physicality would have worked better against the physicality of Chelsea.
But it shows that Wenger has options and that is without Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck. With those two fit and available, the Gunners can field a side according to who the opposition are and still have good options on the bench. So although Benzema may be an upgrade on Giroud, and there is no guarantee he would be, especially straight after his move to the Premier League, I do think we really need him.
What do you think?