Not Benzema – Arsenal Plan January Striker Signing, Rated Higher Than Cavani

Arsenal’s scour for a top quality striker has taken them to South America, with fresh reports claiming the North London club have joined the race to sign Boca Juniors’ Jonathan Calleri. The Argentine is well rated in South American with some section of the media claiming the player is better than PSG and Arsenal target Cavani.

The reigning FA cup champions are chronically short of centre forward options in their team, following Danny Welbeck’s long-term absence due to injury, and Olivier Giroud’s underwhelming displays.

Citing Spanish media outlet Fichajes, the Metro is reporting that Arsenal have place themselves in the race to sign Calleri when the transfer window reopens in January. However, the Gunners will have to battle the likes of Serie A clubs Napoli and Palermo, who are also interested in luring the 21-year old Argentinian forward away from the Argentine league.

Pundits have suggested that Giroud is not the type of striker to successfully lead the line for Arsenal in their bid to win the Premier League title for the first time in a decade, and there were calls for the Gunners to bring in a quality forward during the summer.

Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema was widely tipped to move to the Emirates, with various reports claiming a deal was already in place but the Frenchman dashed the hopes of the Gunners’ fans with a cryptic and supercilious message on Twitter that says he is set to remain at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The North Londoners later turned their attentions to Edinson Cavani, but Paris Saint-Germain refused to sell as there was not enough time to sign a replacement.

Arsenal have since been unable to really make a valid point this season, with Giroud misfiring and Welbeck still expected to be out for three months after suffering a setback in his injury.