Arsenal Transfer News: Gunners Must Land Luis Suarez After Gonzalo Higuain Fail

Arsenal's interest in Liverpool striker Luis Suarez appears to grow as the summer wears on. But after news that Napoli has acquired Gunners target and former Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain, manager Arsene Wenger has no choice but to push even harder for the controversial star.

According to the Mirror's Rob Burnett, Italian club Napoli announced the signing of Higuain this past weekend, meaning that Arsenal's list of top-flight striking options is getting shorter.

But there's still time for Wenger to become a hero this offseason.

Suarez is still a very real possibility with Arsenal having made a massive £40 million bid for him. Furthermore, Wenger is able to offer the Uruguayan the opportunity to play UEFA Champions League football next season—something Liverpool cannot.

While manager Brendan Rodgers and the Reds want to keep Suarez on board at Anfield, his unhappiness will only become a major distraction come mid-August. Arsenal has seen similar situations firsthand in the past with top-level players like Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie. Both wanted to leave the club and were ultimately given the opportunity to play elsewhere.

For Arsenal, it's no secret that the club must add firepower up front in order to become a contender in the Premier League as well as Europe.

The numbers speak for themselves. No player scored more than 14 goals in the Premier League last season for the Gunners, and among the four teams that qualified for the Champions League, only Manchester City scored fewer goals away from home in 2012-13.

Meanwhile, former Gunners superstar Robin van Persie went on to propel the Premier League's highest-scoring attack. He netted a league-leading 26 goals for eventual champion Manchester United, the only club to score more than 80 league goals last year.

Since losing van Persie to Old Trafford last summer, Arsenal has yet to replace him with a productive striker. 

While there aren't too many forwards of van Persie's caliber ready to move to the Emirates, Suarez seems to be the rare target who meets all the requirements. He possesses van Persie-like skill and appears willing to make the jump to Arsenal, according to the Mirror's John Cross. 

Therefore, in the wake of Higuain signing with Napoli, Wenger is left with few options and now must find a way to bring Suarez to Holloway this summer.

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter.