Benzema or Vela to Arsenal?

Written By Kingsley Okiwelu

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It’s been very interesting to listen to all the Arsenal related transfer tittle-tattle in the last few days. Numerous players have been linked but it’s safe to say the two names that have generated the most interest for those fans of an Arsenal persuasion over the past 48 hours or thereabouts have been Kareem Benzema and Carlos Vela.

Judging how much substance there is behind the rumours is difficult. Even for what is considered to be the more mainstream press, there seems to have been a detour into the kind of rumour peddling that used to be the exclusive preserve of the tabloids. It appears even the likes of “the Guardian”, and “the Telegraph”, are not averse to the current fad of generating as many online “hits”, as possible. A healthy dose of scepticism is therefore advised in assessing the veracity or otherwise of the latest rumours.

The most exciting rumour concerns the likelihood of the club making a bid for Kareem Benzema. The Telegraph, asserts that a £30 million pound bid for the Real Madrid striker from Arsenal is imminent. Now, Wenger appears to be a long-term admirer of the French striker, but his recent widely published views on the wisdom or lack thereof, of having the two French strikers transfer their National team rivalry to the club stage, immediately call into question the plausibility of such a bid being lodged. It’s possible of course that the Arsenal handler’s views have been tempered by time and the lack of truly world class striking alternatives available at the moment, but once more caution is advised. If however, the rumour turns out to be true, the move will be welcome, with some important caveats. For one, whilst Benzema is a very talented Striker, question marks have been raised about his attitude in the past. Secondly, the risks of his rivalry with Olivier Giroud having some unintended consequences on team harmony and morale cannot be dismissed out of hand. The foregoing concerns notwithstanding, a move for Benzema does make sense on some levels. Most prominent of these is that in the event that he eventually makes the switch from the Bernabeu to the Emirates, he immediately provides the gunners with a proven, dependable option in the striking department. Apart from providing a ready source of goals, he will also provide the gunners with a more mobile, alternative to Olivier Giroud. His pace and excellent technical ability, combined with his ability to link up play will mean that Arsenal will be blessed with two excellent strikers who can compete with as well as complement each other depending on what formation the gunners adopt.

So, do we begin to dream of seeing Benzema in Arsenal colours next term? It remains to be seen. One factor that does seem to lend credence to the idea, is the fact that the French striker has only one year left on his current Real Madrid contract. With rumors of the Madrid based club being interested in making a huge bid for Luis Suarez making the rounds, it does seem possible that they may be willing to let Benzema go in order to fund a mammoth Suarez bid. On the other hand, for the precise reason that a Benzema sale will in all likelihood depend on how desperately Madrid want Suarez, it’s difficult to say for sure that a potential bid for the French international will be successful.

As for Carlos Vela, it’s most likely just his agent trying to attain a stronger bargaining position with the Mexican striker’s parent club, Real Sociedad. The timing of the stories certainly seems very convenient indeed (Vela has just opened negotiations over a contract extension with Real Sociedad). Why we would want to re-sign him though, I have no idea. It’s not exactly as though he’s set the world on fire since he left in 2011.

The coming weeks should provide a clearer picture as to where the club stands with regards to the possibility of signing either of these strikers. Until then, let’s keep our fingers crossed.

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