With Premier League leaders Arsenal currently on the lookout for new front men to bring to the Emirates when the winter transfer window opens again for business for the year in January in order to help share the workload with France international Olivier Giroud, we take a look at five possible striking targets for the new year for the Gunners to go after.
Fernando Llorente (Juventus)
A forward that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been monitoring of late in the hope of luring the Spain international to the capital in January, especially with the tall former Athletic Bilbao man struggling to nail down a regular starting berth up front with the Serie A champions this season.
Llorente, of course, only moved to Turin last summer, but it is fair to say that so far the transfer has not quite worked out for either party, giving the Gunners renewed hope they may be able to sign the La Roja centre forward when the winter window reopens in six weeks’ time.
But, Arsenal may have to take the player on an initial six-month loan deal first though, and then sign Llorente on a permanet contract come the end of this season if they want such a move to go through.
Luis Suarez (Liverpool)
The mercurial, controversial, yet brilliant Uruguay international was closely tracked by Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger throughout the summer, with the north Londoners even lodging two big-money offers with their rivals from Anfield for the 26-year-old.
However, on both occasions the Merseyside giants rejected the Frenchman’s advances, despite their final bid being valued at a whopping £40 million plus £1, which Wenger and the club both believed was enough to trigger a release clause in Suarez’s contract with the Reds.
But Wenger has remained on the striker’s trail in this campaign though and with Suarez currently not cup tied in the Uefa Champions League owing to the fact that Liverpool are not involved in European club competitions this season, the player is even more attractive to the Gunners, although they also know that they will need to break the bank in order to persuade the forward’s employers to part company with their star man.
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Another word-class attacker that Wenger and Arsenal have been keeping close tabs on since the end of the previous campaign is Real Madrid’s unsettled marksman, with the Frenchman known to be a huge admirer of Benzema’s.
The north London club did try and lure the highly rated France international to the Emirates during the close-season transfer window, only for a combination of los Blancos president Florentino Perez wanting to keep hold of one of his favourite players at the Santiago Bernabeu, and Benzema’s own desire to remain in the Spanish capital and fight for his first-team place, to scupper the Premier League giants’ hopes of landing the player.
But the situation at Madrid has since changed, with Benzema’s own form in front of goal having fallen away badly of late, so much so that even the Real supporters have started to whistle and jeer the front man at the White House, while Perez himself now wants to bring Liverpool striker Luis Suarez to the club in place of the France international.
All of which has therefore given Arsenal renewed hope that they may be able to convince Benzema to make the move to England at the turn of the year, with Madrid understood to be seeking £23m for the 25-year-old.
Demba Ba (Chelsea)
Arsenal tried to sign the Senegal international on loan in the final hours on transfer deadline day, only to be knocked back at the very last minute by their arch rivals from across the capital.
However, Blues head coach Jose Mourinho has since grown frustrated with Ba, and the Portuguese had now informed his bosses at Stamford Bridge that the forward can be made surplus to requirements in January.
All of which appears to have paved the way for the Gunners to return to west London in order to sign the 28-year-old come the turn of the year.
Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)
Yet another prolific forward who the Gunners are keen to land in January, especially after the impressive 18 months that the powerful Belgium international has had since first moving to Villa Park from Genk for just £7m in August 2012.
The 22-year-old has managed to find the back of the net on a total of 28 occasions in all competitions for Villa in only 49 appearances in that time, including an equally impressive 23 strikes in just 43 Premier League outings under Paul Lambert’s astute management.
As a result, a whole host of big-name top-flight clubs came in for Beneteke during the summer, only for the striker to instead extend his contract in the west Midlands until June 30 2017.
However, it is known that Benteke is still keen to take his career to the next level and would relish the opportunity to play at the highest level in the Champions League, giving Arsenal a great chance to sign the player in the new year.