Rumours are circling that Arsenal have made an offer to sign Gonzalo Higuain in a cash-plus-player deal involving Olivier Giroud.
The Frenchman played a key role in helping his country’s football team to reach the final of Euro 2016 this month, but has been under intense scrutiny for his club form in recent terms.
Giroud is far from a club-favourite at the Emirates club, despite showing a number of signs that he is improving year upon year.
The 29 year-old scored 24 goals in all competitions this term, his highest tally in our famous red shirt, but having gone on a barren run in early 2016, was at the centre of criticism for fans as the club’s title challenge faded painfully.
The fact of the matter is however, that his form only dipped while he had no rival to challenge for the role, with Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck sidelined or out of sorts, and in my honest opinion, I believe he was overused and tired out when he actually needed to be used sparingly. After a break, he ended up finishing the season well, and then came painfully close to becoming a European champion with France this summer.
Our club have actively been on the look-out for a player to challenge the former Montpellier striker for a first-team role at the Emirates for the upcoming season, but having failed in bids to land a number of targets, are now claimed to be willing to offload Giroud in order to strengthen.
£40 Million and this season’s top goalscorer is said to have been offered to Napoli for the services of Gonzalo Higuain, who in turn has had a hugely successful goalscoring campaign in Italy.
The Argentine also lost in the final with his country this summer, losing out to Alexis Sanchez’s Chile side in the Copa America tournament, but having scored a huge 36 league goals in 35 outings this term, there is little wonder as to why Arsene Wenger would be willing to move the star.
Napoli do play with a very attacking style, while the Gunners play a more possession-based style, and his current side also play with a very attacking front three, compared to our one. Higuain has also never played in the Premier League, which is also a worrying factor when investing serious amounts in a forward.
Giroud is a steady, and consistent striker regardless of his barren run which I have already excused. There is no doubt that we need to bring in a striker, but I cant help but think that signing Gonzo at the expense of our current solid option is a huge risk, and one I would not actually make.
I’m sure many of you disagree, as I know Giroud has many doubters, but I would rather see Higuain’s full £70+ Million asking price met in full, than see this sort of swap deal happen. Am I alone in this?