It is evident that Arsenal are in search for a new striker to partner Olivier Giroud up front and two names have repeatedly been linked over the past few weeks. They are none other than his French counter parts Karim Benzema and Alexandre Lacazette, so let’s have a look at each of them.
Karim Benzema
This 27 year old French striker has been Real Madrid’s No.1 striker for the last six seasons and has made 281 appearances for Real Madrid in all competitions, scoring 134 times and assisting 86 times. He also has 78 France National team caps to his name, scoring 25 times and assisting 18 times during that period. Hence he has been a regular for his club and country over the past few years and has been highly successful as well. Benzema had always been instrumental in all of Real Madrid’s title run in recent years and has won the Copa del Rey title twice and La Liga, Champions League, Club World cup, Spanish Super cup & UEFA Super cup titles once with Real Madrid so far.
But now his Real Madrid future looks uncertain after new manager Rafael Benitez looks set to play Portugal captain and three time Player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo as striker for the coming season in a new 4-2-3-1 formation. The Spanish club are also in contact with PSG over a possible deal for Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Hence it still looks uncertain whether the Frenchman is in Benitez’s scheme of things for the coming season.
It was reported this week that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had phoned Benzema over a possible deal. However the striker has reportedly declined the offer by saying that he was happy at the Santiago Bernabeau for the time being and hasn’t considered a move away from the club. But he might be tempted to move to Arsenal if Ronaldo is chosen as the main striker or Zlatan is brought in for the coming season. Hence Benzema would be a quality addition if he decides to join us. He would relieve Giroud of the extra-responsibility that he has been facing the last three seasons as Arsenal’s lone striker. Lets hope that the best thing happens.
Alexandre Lacazette
This 24 year old French striker was a revelation last season for French club Olympique Lyon. He was Ligue 1’s top scorer last season and has attracted a number of top European clubs. He scored 31 times and assisted 8 times last season in 40 appearances for Lyon. He was also Ligue 1 player of the season for the 2014-15 season. The youngster made his France National team debut in June 2014 and has gone onto score once in eight appearances for his country. Hence after impressing last season Lacazette appears to be the centre of attraction for many top European clubs including Arsenal.
Lacazette recently favorited a tweet linking him with Arsenal. However, the Ligue 1 top scorer has since removed the favourite after it understandably drew attention on the social media. The post read: “Wenger plans to take advantage of negotiations between Lyon & Lacazette
