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Arsenal set for striker change.
Written by Sawyer | 7th April 2008 | 1 Comment(s)
At some stages of the Arsenal/Liverpool Trilogy Arsene Wenger may cast an envious eye in the direction of Fernando Torres and wonder what may have become of The Gunners' Premier League challenge had he broken the habit of a lifetime and followed through his interest in a striker with a high price tag?
Saturday's instalment provided some cause for many to think that all was not well in the Arsenal camp as Nicklas Bendtner headed home, only to then celebrate alone with the fans as the rest of the players shunned their customary group frivolities at scoring.
A few favoured congratulating the goal's creator Cesc Fabregas, and when Bendtner trotted back to his position for the restart only Mathieu Flamini was visibly seen to give the Danish striker the thumbs-up.
A few minutes later Emmanuel Adebayor entered the fray and Fabregas made a strong point of running up to his team-mate to shake his hand. Maybe there was nothing too much in that, but it seemed to show who one of Arsenal's leading players preferred to play with.
Obviously players don't have to actually like each-other to be able to play together as was shown a few years ago at Manchester United where Teddy Sheringham and Andy Cole detested one another; however it would seem that the fracas between Bendtner and Adebayor can only have one ending when the season is completed.
With the Togo International having notched over 20 goals it would seem that Bendtner is more than likely to leave which will surely require Wenger to act in the transfer market.
The Arsenal boss does have Mexican hotshot Carlos Vela returning from his loan spell and Spanish youngster Fran Merida is likely to challenge for a role on the right hand side now and again, which should free up Theo Walcott to be selected as a central striker on occasions.
However, With Eduardo out until at least Christmas and Robin van Persie perennially on the treatment table it is no surprise that Wenger is strongly linked with Ajax's Dutch international Striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar.
Huntelaar has certainly sent a timely reminder during the last week with two of Holland's four goals during their comeback to win 4-3 in Austria, which has been followed by a hat-trick for Ajax in a 4-1 home success with De Graafschap.
With the pace of the improving Walcott to accommodate at some stage Wenger may choose to ignore Lyon's new hot property Karim Benzema who is heavily linked with Man United, and go for a player like Huntelaar who can challenge, or sometimes play with Adebayor; given that the Togolese striker may have played a little above himself for a while this season and it may not be possible for him to achieve this again?
Benzema's 21 goals this season is certainly impressive for a 20 year-old and Huntelaar, who has also attracted recent interest from Real Madrid, is well into the 30's as usual.
Arsene Wenger's admission that he is considering a link with the Amsterdam club to loan players can only heighten speculation, as of course Chelsea has a link with PSV Eindhoven with centre back Alex quite likely to be the reason behind the affiliation.
Whether Wenger makes a move for Huntelaar or another similar style striker remains to be seen, but he will certainly feel frustrated that his young players couldn't quite keep up the pace they had set earlier in the season.
In previous years the Arsenal boss may have has his hands tied due to the finances required for The Emirates Stadium, but that isn't the case now and at least this summer Wenger can compete on a more or less equal footing with his adversaries if he wishes to do so.
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You are quite right....AW need to get players, please how on earth we can compete with ManU and Chelsea with only teenagers. He has got budget go and get Benzema and Huntelaar and Centre Half. Get rid of Eboue and his likes..