Arsenal Transfer Rumors: Arsene Wenger Must Act Fast in Pursuit of Striker

Arsenal isn’t in a position to be patient.

According to the latest transfer rumors, Arsene Wenger is after 31-year-old Spanish striker David Villa of Barcelona. But if the Gunners’ manager doesn’t execute his January transfer window plan quickly, it’ll be too late.

John Cross of The Daily Mirror reported that, while Arsenal is in pursuit of Villa, so are Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool. But even more important than placing a bid for the Barca star, the Gunners must extend Theo Walcott’s contract. Cross explained, though, that, in theory, they should have the budget to do both this winter.

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Arsenal will have the cash thanks to their clear-out, with Marouane Chamakh being loaned out and Andrey Arshavin, Johan Djourou and Sebastien Squillaci all set to go in the next few weeks, freeing up cash for transfers and to use on wages.

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Wenger must take advantage of that cash.

The Gunners are 18 points behind leaders Manchester United in the English Premier League standings. Because of that, they aren’t in position to win the title this season. But Arsenal is just a few bold moves away from being among the EPL elite once again.

Its goal differential is only four behind Manchester City’s and Wenger's side have only lost one more match than Manchester United.

As long as they hold onto Walcott, the Gunners will have the playmakers to compete with those juggernauts. The English 23-year-old and midfielder Santi Cazorla have combined for an impressive 15 goals and 11 assists this season. Their other goalscoring threats, however, have them missing former captain and current Manchester United star Robin van Persie.

RVP leads the Red Devils and Barclays Premier League with 16 goals, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud have combined for just 12.

That’s the difference between Arsenal and the top of the table—another top-notch striker. Wenger can’t hesitate to pull the trigger on a deal for Villa because if he does, the club will have forward issues next season rather than competing for the EPL crown.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels