Three strikers Arsenal should target in January

Diego Costa

As Karim Benzema will be expensive, and that there is no guarantee that he will leave Real Madrid, there are many alternatives to the French striker for Arsene Wenger to look at.

Diego Costa

The first being Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa. The Brazilian born striker has flourished since Radamel Falcao left for Monaco, scoring 14 goals so far this term and sitting second in the scoring charts to Cristiano Ronaldo. The Atletico striker has a £32m buyout clause, and that is relatively little for a striker of his calibre, and at the age of 25, he could be the spearhead of Arsenal’s attack for the best part of a decade, meaning that his large transfer fee would be easily justified.

Though it is unlikely he would want to leave Atletico, especially with the World Cup coming up, he may not want to take the gamble of trying a new league that he could fail in. Interest from Juventus was rumoured, but with Fernando Llorente finally coming good for the Old Lady, it is doubtful they will want to spend big on a striker when they don’t need one, which would leave Arsenal as the front runners for his signature, though competition from Liverpool is possible should Luis Suarez leave.

Mario Mandzukic

Mario Mandzukic

Another striker Arsenal could turn their attention to is Mario Mandzukic. Although he has become an integral part of the Bayern Munich starting XI over the course of the past 2 seasons, it is understood that Robert Lewandowski has a pre-contract agreement with the Bavarian giants, meaning the Croatia international will probably lose his starting berth, and it is doubtful that he will want to spend the best years of his career on the Bayern bench.

Although Antonio Conte has confirmed his interest in the former Wolfsburg hit-man, and Juventus may prove to be too much competition for Arsenal to handle, as the Bianconeri very much remain the top dog in Serie A and have a realistic chance of winning the Champions League, and are currently experiencing the opposite of a trophy drought, unlike their North London counterparts. Though with Domenico Berardi impressing on-loan at Sassuolo, he may divert Juve’s interest in the Croat, giving Arsenal the advantage in the race for the 2012 Champions League winning striker.

Filip Djordjevic

Filip Djordjevic

With Arsene’s seemingly new found ability to spend large transfer fee’s after the acquisition of Mesut Ozil, it is unlikely the Gunners would go for one of Europe’s lesser heard names in Filip Djordjevic, but in doing so they could be losing out on one of Ligue 1’s top stars. The Nantes forward has bagged 8 goals in 14 appearances this term, directly contributing to 19 points for the minnows, making him statistically the 2nd most important player in Ligue 1, second only to Radamel Falcao.

The Serbia international is gifted with pace, trickery and a dead eye for goal, making him one of the most lethal strikers in France, and potentially Europe. It is understood that Lyon are monitoring his situation, it is likely that they will come back in January as it seems likely that Bafetimbi Gomis will join either Newcastle or Lazio, the Lions will be a little short up front. Though Arsenal should easily be able to outbid the 9-time French champions, and could also offer a higher wage, Champions League and Premier League football.