Arsenal having been searching all summer for a striker, who can challenge Giroud and provide the Gunners something different going forward. However after Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy snubbed Arsenal to sign a new deal at Leicester, the search continues. With all the other big clubs struggling for consistency last season, Wenger missed a golden opportunity to deliver a much awaited title to the fans. Many experts pointed out that it was the absence of a world class striker that hampered Arsenal’s chances of winning the title.
Although Giroud is an international level striker, who has done well in patches, he stills struggles to take his team over the line, when the other players are having an off day. Any club which wants to compete against the best, needs to have a striker who can conjure up that moment of magic, when things aren’t going too great. There have been significant rumors linking the Gunners to a multitude of strikers, including Romelu Lukaku, Gonzalo Higuain and Alvaro Morata. However none of the rumors have materialized into anything concrete. However with Vardy commiting his future at King Power Stadium, Wenger has again been forced to go back to the drawing board and look for alternative options and one player who seems to be catching Wenger’s attention is Sporting Lisbon’s Islam Slimani.
Slimani would come at the same price as the England international, as he is believed to have a £23.5m release clause. The Algerian also had a fantastic individual season at Lisbon, scoring 30 goals. ironically, the 27-year-old was also a target for Leicester this summer, had Vardy decided to leave the Premier League champions. Although Slimani had a brilliant last season, he was still playing in a much weaker league, a complete contrast to the pace and physicality of the Premier League. He was playing for the strongest team against oppositions which were far weaker than what he is going to face in England. Moreover he doesn’t really seem like an improvement on Giroud or an alternative for that matter of fact.
Wenger needs a world class striker, and signing the Algerian will only help in papering over some minor cracks. Slimani is physically very strong and has an excellent touch, with an incredible ability to finish of moves. However his lack of Premier League experience, something which Giroud has in abundance could prove to be a downfall for Arsenal, if he does join the Gunners this season. His touch isn’t as assured as some of the other strikers currently playing in the League, which could lead to him being crowded out defenders before he gets his shot away.
Vardy is a completely different striker to Giroud, he pace is key during counter attacks and he prefers to spin in behind in contrast to the Frenchman’s tendency to drop deep, play others around him. Slimani is a hugely talented striker but he doesn’t offer an improvement on Giroud and neither does he offer something different like Vardy. Therefore it’s not the solution, fans are looking for and Wenger will be wasting his money, if he does decide to pursue this deal further.
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