Media Referee

A deal for Cohen Bramall might be on the cards, and yes a new full-back is needed at the Emirates stadium, but saying this Arsenal team is not crying out for a new centre-forward would be pure misjudgement.

In fact, a goalscorer, never mind Granit Xhaka, should have been Arsene Wenger’s first signing as soon as last season ended.

If an injury (to Per Mertesacker) is what has got Wenger dusting off his wallet to sign a defender, then an injury (to Danny Welbeck) should have seen him get the deal done for a striker long before the 2016/17 campaign kicked off.

Perhaps the audacious bid for Jamie Vardy last summer was a sign that the club had realized Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott as centre-forward options would not be enough.

But even with the need for a new goalscorer now understood, who at all is available to be bought in January? Vardy is gone, Higuain is gone, barring an astronomical transfer bid, Morata isn’t coming and neither is Mauro Icardi in the middle of the season.

That leaves Alexandre Lacazette as the only remaining option because, in truth, Romelu Lukaku is hardly clinical enough to lead the Gunners’ frontline.

And with Lyon’s president continuing to make a nuisance of himself, who is to say Lacazette, a man currently sidelined by injury anyway, will end up joining Arsenal before February 1?

If the Frenchman’s proposed move never happens, Arsenal will have to humble themselves and find anything better than Walcott because, let’s face it, when Sanogo and Akpom are your only out-and-out strikers available on the bench, you are well and truly desperate.

Whomever the alternative to Lacazette is will have to be a quick-fix; a man who might not deliver beyond one or two seasons. And that is where Jermain Defoe makes some sense.

Yes, he is a 33-year-old striker, but his numbers last season – which were not different from his decent tallies from previous years – proved that he still knows where the back of the net is.

Take a look at his goal against Manchester City on Saturday and you will be reminded that he is the sort of striker Walcott has been aspiring to be for ten years now; a pacey, small-sized finisher.

Defoe has always been an above average striker who could provide you 20 goals, sitting in front of any midfield – never mind the ultra-creative one at Arsenal which puts chance after chance on the plate for even mediocre strikers.

Indeed, considering the form Defoe is in at the moment, he would have been a much-coveted name had he been a decade younger. But that is the point here. He is meant to be a quick fix and a quick fix is what Arsenal are in need of.

“Roberto has plans to return to the Premier League. He likes Arsenal. He thinks they’re a great a club. I must say I believe Arsenal would be a top choice for him.”

Those were supposedly the words of a long-time friend of Roberto Mancini in an interview with Tribalfootball last month.

Whether there is any truth to the above quotes or not, it has to be said that the idea of the Italian tactician replacing Arsene Wenger in the near future is not an outlandish one.

The likes of Diego Simeone and Thomas Tuchel, who have continued to be linked with the soon-to-be vacant Arsenal job, are unlikely to leave what appears to be lavish roles at Atletico Madrid and Dortmund respectively for a potentially uneasy position at the Emirates stadium.

And considering how former prime target Jurgen Klopp is now enjoying life at Liverpool, there appears to be a shortage of options in the managerial market.

That is why it comes as no surprise that an unfancied name like Eddie Howe is suddenly being linked with the Arsenal job. There just aren’t too many choices available.

Therefore, Roberto Mancini, a relatively young manager with Premier League and ‘big club’ experience should come into the conversation.

Indeed, only Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti have a higher win percentage in the Premier League than the former Inter Milan boss.

In addition to that, a majority of the players signed by Mancini have gone on to become important stars at Manchester City.

Similar to Simeone, the Italian would bring the discipline and defensive stability which Arsenal have been missing for years.

And although his style of football is not a carbon-copy of Wenger’s, Mancini proved during his Manchester City days that he could coach teams to play attacking football when necessary.

After all, the City side which won the Premier League title in 2012 was not boring to watch by any means. They were rather a balanced team which could attack and defend.

Many have impugned the work Mancini did at the Etihad stadium, but during his four years there, his record was actually decent to say the least.

2009/10 – Took over from Mark Hughes in December after City had finished 10th the previous year and went on to finish 5th, narrowly missing out on the top four.

2010/11 –  Secured 3rd spot, finishing ahead of Arsenal before winning the FA Cup in his first full season in charge.

2011/12 – Won the Premier League with 89 points which was only a point less than what ‘the Invincibles’ totaled in 2003/04

2012/13 – Finished 2nd in a campaign troubled by injuries and dressing room drama before reaching the FA Cup final.

Bayern Munich have rarely been troubled by goal droughts in recent years and this season is unlikely to produce anything different. Therefore, the German champions may not feel the need to dip into the transfer market for a new striker.

However, considering how the avoidance of injuries is never a certainty in football, Carlo Ancelotti has to seriously consider what his options would be in the unexpected absence of Robert Lewandowski.

Yes, Thomas Muller can occasionally fill the void upfront but looking at Bayern’s squad at the moment, it appears that Lewandowski is actually the only experienced natural striker available, with the best of the remaining options being American youngster Julian Green.

Even so, there is no use in buying a striker with the potential of replacing Lewandowski because whoever that promising youngster is would never develop successfully by sitting on the bench.

In addition to that, the price of a goalscorer with a bright future is astronomical these days. Therefore it would make more sense to recruit a cheaper, older striker who is willing to be the understudy to Lewandowski.

As a backup center-forward, one of the ideal options would be former Bayern Munich star Claudio Pizarro. The Peruvian is an accomplished name in football who comes with bags of experience and is often happy to play the role of an impact substitute.

It would probably be even better for Ancelotti to find an extra striker who is a real threat in the air to provide an alternative to what Lewandowski does week in, week out.

As to who Bayern should purchase, the other option is yet another former Bavarian in Mario Mandzukic. Following the arrival of Gonzalo Higuain at Juventus, the Croatian is no longer guaranteed regular action and would be open to a return to his old club as a result.

AS Roma’s Edin Dzeko could also prove to be a decent choice to have on the bench in desperate times while Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud, who is likely to be the most expensive of all the aforementioned strikers, is another man to pursue.

Then again, Bayern’s sheer dominance of the Bundesliga is likely to see them secure the title with or without another striker.

Carlos Vela failed to find his feet in the Premier League but the reason behind that might have something to do with Arsene Wenger.

“He got his chance but he was not good enough!” Those words represent the daft conclusions made by many Arsenal fans who were actually convinced that Carlos Vela proved on his own that he was not up to the standards as a Gunner.

But if there is anything that Vela proved at Arsenal, it was the value of a manager’s faith in a player. Indeed, a lack of it, and that player’s progress is hindered substantially.

Carlos Vela probably fluffed his lines in his brief Arsenal spell, he probably was not equipped to sparkle in the Premier League after all, but one thing for sure is that his failure was not down to squandering his chances because frankly, he did not get that many. Playing every weekend and coming up with the same abysmal answers to the same questions is one thing, while playing a cameo every other weekend and not making the difference is another.

Vela was the victim of the latter scenario and even the numbers say it.The fact that he never started back-to-back games in an Arsenal shirt, the fact that he only ever made three starts in his entire Premier League career and the fact that a whopping 43 of his 64 appearances as a Gunner were as a substitute tells the story of a man utilized in a peripheral role.

Ironically, most of Vela’s limited chances came at the expense of a much-favoured Nicklas Bendtner, a man who got the starts and the attention but a man who also received criticism for performing only when his erratic talent desired. The epitome of Wenger’s missing faith in Vela was how the Mexican would produce sublime moments in cup ties during midweek but would be nowhere to be found when the team-sheet was revealed during the Premier League weekends.

Yes, jet lag from international duties with Mexico was no aid to his playing time at the Emirates and that may be Wenger’s excuse for restricting the striker’s opportunities. But for the most part, it was as if the exploits of the former Guadalajara whiz-kid simply could not attract any sort of reward from his boss. Indeed, the only occasions he received an Arsenal call-up were when all else was failing during the dying minutes of games. And to be fair, not many footballers will pick those times to showcase their full potential because it is easier to fail under pressure.

That week during his debut 2008/09 season when Vela scored a hat-trick in the Carling Cup but was somehow dropped to the bench during the league clash with Hull City days later summed it all up. Incidentally, Arsenal went on to lose that game 2-1 at home to Hull, and as expected, Vela only played a part when his team was chasing the game.

Thus, the best of Vela’s critics have judged him in events when even the ten other men he was on the pitch with were in no comfort to be judged. Sure, Carlos was culpable for scarcely delivering a telling contribution when he came off the bench and indeed, all it might have taken was one sensational equalizer or game winner to do his ratings a world of good.

But the bottom line is that the comprehensive attributes of a player is unveiled not in cameos or some 10 minutes of tension as a substitute but during 90 minutes after 90 minutes. At least, watch the boy miss opportunities all day and be convinced he is terrible rather than condemn his ability because he could not help find that precious late goal.

Despite being starved of consistent involvement with the first team, Vela’s goal tally had more than pride to it. Overall, he managed three goals to match those three starts in his Premier League stint at Arsenal and in the Champions League – where he once came off the bench and bagged a double featuring two of his dazzling trademark chips against Braga – Vela made up for lack of action again.

And for the domestic cups where Wenger willingly paved way for him to impress, Vela did not disappoint. A staggering six goals from just eight starts in the Carling Cup ad FA Cup parceled his statistics.

“I can’t believe Arsenal never gave Vela a proper chance. Now we’re seeing what he can do when the manager believes in him” were the remarks of Spanish football expert Guillem Balague after witnessing Vela spearhead Real Sociedad into contention for a top four place in La Liga last season.

La Liga may well be the better fit for the 28-year-old, but there is little evidence to prove that he was not meant to shine in England. And Arsenal may never find out what Carlos Alberto Vela was meant to be.