We have recently been linked with a £45m (via The Independent) move for Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry claims we would win the league if we completed the signing.
Arsene Wenger insists that it’s not that simple however, and claims we can’t be reliant on one striker to win us the league.
“I respect Thierry Henry a lot for his football knowledge but it is not as mathematical as that,” Wenger said, as reported by Goal.
“We have to develop our collective game and depend less on one guy who comes in and scores all the goals.
“I think Olivier Giroud would not have been far from 20 if he played the whole of last season and Theo Walcott as well.
“I don’t see why a guy like [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain should not have an ambition to score 10 goals, [Alexis] Sanchez can score goals too.
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“[Mesut] Özil has to fix himself a target of at least 10. For a guy who plays behind the striker you want more from him [in terms of] goalscoring, so we can share that.”
You can understand where Wenger is coming from, and having a side that is overly reliant on one player is always dangerous. But you’d argue that we already have a team that should at the very least come close to challenging for the title, and Benzema may drag us over the line.
The manager highlighted the fact that you can’t depend on one striker, but that is exactly what we’ve been doing.
He may split opinion, but Olivier Giroud is a quality striker. The French forward can’t play every game of the season though, and we’ve had no reliable alternative to Giroud in recent campaigns.
Were Benzema to arrive, we would boast far more diversity in the striking role, with Giroud, Benzema, and Theo Walcott all viable options who each offer something different going forward.
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Benzema alone may not be enough to guarantee silverware, but we are so close to building a title winning side, and need one or two more signings to complete the puzzle.
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