Arsenal Transfer News: Gonzalo Higuain Transfer Would Help Gunners Close EPL Gap

Arsenal made strides this past season as it finished fourth in the EPL, but anything less than a title is generally considered a failure by fans of the Gunners. If Arsenal is able to complete the acquisition of striker Gonzalo Higuain, the Gunners will be one step closer to achieving that goal.

According to Darren Lewis of Mirror Football, Arsenal is close to buying Higuain from Real Madrid. Higuain's father told FOX Sports Argentina that Arsenal's £22 million bid for Higuain has advanced the negotiations significantly.

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I will luckily be able to see my son in the Premier League soon.

There isn't anything signed yet, but the negotiations are very advanced.

We haven't spoken about the contract yet. Arsenal has made a great offer, in the same way as Juventus.

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Assuming Arsenal goes the extra mile and is able to lock up Higuain, it would be a major coup for the Gunners. While Arsenal certainly has some skill up top already, Higuain is the type of world-class offensive player that the Gunners seem to lack right now.

Lukas Podolski is a versatile player capable of playing a few different positions on the pitch, so he would be unaffected by Higuain's acquisition. The likes of Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud would have to battle it out for playing time, but Arsenal would likely be a far more dangerous team with them coming off the bench anyway.

The Argentinian's numbers have been extremely impressive over the past five seasons as he has developed into one of the sport's top strikers. Higuain has scored at least 19 goals in each of the last five seasons with the exception of 2010-11 as he was limited to just 25 appearances. He has also developed into a capable playmaker as evidenced by his 10 assists this past season.

Arsenal finished fourth in the EPL behind Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea this past season. While the Gunners finished well behind the Red Devils at 16 points back, Arsenal is very much within striking distance of City and Chelsea. The Blues barely clipped Arsenal to the tune of five points and the Citizens were a mere five points better.

It's going to be difficult for Arsenal to make up a ton of ground on Manchester United, especially since Man U figures to improve this offseason, but a second-place finish is a very real possibility. City hasn't done a lot to get better, and although Chelsea has, Higuain is the type of high-impact acquisition that might skyrocket the Gunners to the top.

Goal scoring was actually a strength for Arsenal this past season as it was third in the EPL behind Manchester United and Chelsea. There is no such thing as scoring too many goals, though. Higuain would add a totally new dimension to the Gunners' attack and they would be even more dangerous than before.

The possible combinations have to be tantalizing for Arsenal fans as Higuain can play off the skill of players like Santi Cazorla, Podolski and even Walcott if Arsene Wenger decides to put them on the pitch together. Creativity isn't something the entire Arsenal roster possessed last season, but Higuain is a player who can inspire when it comes to outside-the-box thinking.

Arsenal has a strong squad, but it can't afford to stand pat if it wants to make progress in the EPL. The Gunners need to make a splash of some kind on the transfer market and there is no doubt that Higuain would qualify.

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