Arsenal Transfer Rumours: 8 Strikers Linked with Summer Moves

On Saturday, Thierry Henry brought his second spell with Arsenal to a Hollywood ending by scoring a last-minute equalizer to give Arsenal the win over a resolute Sunderland team and carry his team up to fourth place.

Unfortunately, that was the last Arsenal fans would see of Henry in an Arsenal shirt, at least until next year. 

Which brings the team and its fans back to an unfortunate realization: The team still lacks an effective back-up option for Robin van Persie.

Arsenal's 4-3-3 formation has finally started to produce consistent results with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain making his breakthrough, so it's safe to assume Arsene Wenger will be sticking with it for the foreseeable future.

Although this means that Arsenal no longer need to find a top-quality striker to partner RVP, it still means they need a decent striker who can come on for RVP and score, or one who can be relied on to score when RVP needs a rest.

Arsenal's current options, Park Chu-Young and Marouane Chamkh haven't cut it this season. Wenger hasn't trusted Chu-Young with much playing time, while Chamakh has consistently failed to return to the heights he reached in the first-half of his first season with Arsenal.

Together, the two have scored two goals in 19 matches this season. Yikes.

Arsenal need a new striker in the summer to continue to reach their minimum objectives (CL qualification). Otherwise, a RVP injury (we know how common those can be) could be disastrous.

Here are 8 options for Arsenal this summer.

Lukas Podolski

Thought we were done with Lukas Podolski rumors after this past winter? Guess again.

Speaking to German tabloid Bild am Sonntag, Luka Podolski voiced his displeasure with his current situation at FC Koln:

"

I was told that the club wanted to build a team around me that would be among the top eight in the league before then establishing itself in the top six, and I committed myself to the move [to Koln] because I wanted to be a part of that project.

Christoph Daum once said that much has been promised and little delivered - I find myself that that has been confirmed. 

If you look at the proposals that were shown to me and what has ultimately come out of them - it is very disappointing. 

You try every year to move forward but we never get anything other than a relegation battle, which is bitter. 

"

There is truth in Podolski's words. In his first season, Koln finished 13th, and followed that up with a 10th place finish the next season. They currently sit 12th in the Bundesliga.

In Podolski's time with the club, Koln have been able to secure their status as a decent mid-table club, but have never looked like breaking into the top six of the league.

With Podolski set to be a free agent this summer, acquiring the German international would a dream come true for Arsene Wenger. He's been linked with Arsenal in the past, and he's open to a move abroad, so why not?

Olivier Giroud

Many will have you believe that Olivier Giroud is a "no-name" striker playing at a "no-name" club.

But that's far from the truth. Montpellier may be a small club, but they've overachieved considerably to keep themselves locked in the title race with big-spenders Paris Saint-Germain, and Giroud has played a major role in helping the team overachieve.

And though Giroud himself may not be a household name, he's been scoring consistently since 2007 and has already gotten two France caps despite not playing at one of the traditional big clubs of Europe.

When Wenger intially inquired on Giroud's availability, he was quoted an outrageous £42 million for the center forward.

Recently though, it has been reported that Giroud buy-out price for the summer will be only £13.4 million, a much more affordable sum for a club like Arsenal.

With a little more negotiation, Wenger could probably drop the transfer fee for Giroud a little further, and acquire a top-class French striker for a very affordable fee.

Daniel Sturridge

A few days ago, it was rumored that Daniel Sturridge was now a possible transfer target for Arsenal after growing frustrated with his role at Chelsea.

It's a transfer rumor that, at face value, makes sense. Chelsea play with one center forward, usually Fernando Torres or Didier Drogba, and Daniel Sturridge has been stuck at right forward, which is not a position he is really built to play.

But as many people have pointed out, Arsenal also play with one center forward, Robin van Persie. And no matter how good Daniel Sturridge is or can be at the center forward position, he's simply not getting past Robin van Persie's level any time soon.

Furthermore, I can't imagine Chelsea giving their best young player (U-22) to Arsenal—a rival London club and rival for the fourth spot in the Champions League this year and possibly next year too—for anything less than a massive transfer fee, which Wenger won't be okay with.

I wouldn't put much weight in this rumor because of the doubts I've raised about it, but it is out there for you dreamers and Sturridge fans to believe if you wish to.

Nicklas Bendtner

Ha! Scared you, didn't I?

Bendtner will be back at Arsenal once his loan agreement ends, but you can bet he won't be staying there for long. Arsenal fans will be very glad when the day comes that Bendtner's name is no longer tied to their club at all, considering his never-ending shenanigans.

You never know though—Wenger might just decide to keep Bendtner as RVP's backup if no one else comes in...

Luuk De Jong

Luuk De Jong has pretty much hit the ceiling in terms of how much he can develop in the Eredivisie.

After exploding onto the scene with 19 goals in 48 matches last season, De Jong has already surpassed that total this year by scoring 23 goals and recording 14 assists in just 36 matches.

In addition, he's scored seven goals in his last three league matches for FC Twente, making him one of Europe's hottest strikers.

This past winter, De Jong was linked with a possible move to Arsenal, but the move never materialized. This was not surprising, since Henry was already playing as a back-up to RVP and De Jong would've cost a lot of money to bring in half-way through the season.

But this summer, De Jong will only have two more years on his contract, forcing the club to start fielding big-money transfer offers for their 21-year-old Dutchman or risk losing him on a free transfer in just two years time.

Arsenal have had two great Dutch strikers under Arsene Wenger, and Wenger's overall track record with Dutch players has been very good (remember Marc Overmars?).

Luuk De Jong could be an excellent fit for Arsenal, and his young age will surely appeal to Wenger's preference for developing his players than buying them fully developed. 

Burak Yilmaz

Burak Yilmaz was another striker linked to Arsenal over the January Transfer Window, and he made his desire to join the Gunners in January clear in an interview on Turkish TV:

“I am a Besiktas fan, I have always admitted that, but I am a Trabzonspor player until the end of the season. If I were to move abroad I would want to move to a big club, I would accept a transfer to Arsenal.”

So that's one good sign: The player would love to join Arsenal. His contract is rather long, lasting until 2015, but the fact that he plays outside of the Super Lig's biggest three teams (Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Besiktas) should help drive his price down a bit.

The biggest question with Yilmaz is likely how well he would adapt to the English game. In the Super Lig, Yilmaz has clearly not had trouble scoring, having scored 27 goals in 23 matches this year. 

But the Super Lig is ranked considerably lower than the EPL in UEFA's coefficients, and there are only a handful of Turkish players who have ever played for a club as big as Arsenal.

Would Yilmaz be worth the decent transfer fee he'd likely command in a transfer from Trabzonspor to Arsenal? Maybe, but maybe not.

Matias Suarez

Matias Suarez was another one of the many strikers linked with Arsenal this January, but he ended up staying with Anderlecht in Belgium.

Remarkably though, sources are reporting that Suarez has already been signed by Arsenal.

Suarez is young (23), prolific (17 goals in 32 matches), and unselfish (15 assists in 32 matches). He's already checked the top three boxes on Wenger's checklist for transfers.

However, his build is a cause for concern. Weighing in at only 69 kg, Suarez is rather light for a center forward. Against the physical defenses of the EPL, Suarez may find it harder to be productive than he did against the more defensively lax Belgian Pro League.

Hugo Rodallega

You can consider this rumor to be the "garbage bin" rumor of the slideshow.

It's possible, and Rodallega isn't completely washed up yet, but its highly unlikely.

On the other hand, Rodallega is likely the striker most okay with patiently waiting on the bench to play as Robin van Persie's backup, so that should be considered too.

Opinion

Of all the names on this list, I'd consider Rodallega, Sturridge and obviously Bendtner the least likely to be part of Arsenal's squad next season.

That leaves five other strikers, and all of them would be good fits at Arsenal. Podolski and Giroud are much safer options than Yilmaz and Suarez, but who knows if Podolski will move to Arsenal without guaranteed playing time, while Giroud could command a sizeable transfer fee.

My pick of the five strikers is Luuk de Jong. To me, he's got the most upside by far, and RVP could be the perfect mentor for De Jong, the way Dennis Bergkamp mentored RVP in their time together at Arsenal.

Who would you most like to see at Arsenal next season? Leave your opinion in the comments section below.