Arsenal Transfer Rumors: David Villa Is Risky Move for Gunners

After losing out on Wilfried Zaha to Manchester, Arsenal continues to look for their next big splash during the transfer season. And according to the Daily Mirror, Arsene Wenger has his eye on Barcelona star David Villa.

While the move for Villa would certainly be a big one, such a deal carries too much risk for the Gunners.

Wenger's desire goes back to early January, with the Daily Mirror reporting that the Arsenal manager called Villa to try and convince him to play for the Gunners.

And now it seems the club's increasing its effort, with the most recent Daily Mirror report stating they've offered Barcelona £10 million for Villa's services.

It's quite a change to go from a 20-year-old up-and-comer in Zaha to a 31-year-old veteran in Villa.

But experience generally brings less risk without sacrificing too much of the reward. Not in this case, though. Not with David Villa.

The long-time striker has a penchant for scoring goals. He's scored 168 goals in his La Liga career. In fact, he has more in World Cup play for Spain than any other player in team history.

Villa's quick, he has experience and he's a team player. He's good at creating space for teammates and helping in any way he can.

So, where's the risk in all this?

It all goes back to December 2011 when Villa broke his leg. An ESPN report said he'd only be out for four months, but he instead needed double that time before he could return to the pitch.

Villa is back, and he's started 14 La Liga games since the injury, but it hasn't been with the same abilities.

And even though he's back, injuries continue to hamper his availability. Villa has only started six of Barcelona's 20 games in 2012/13.

He continues to score, but not with the same effectiveness. Villa averaged 0.563 goals a game in 2010/11, but is only averaging 0.385 a game this season.

Take the injury risk and decline in production and combine it with the fact that Villa is 31 years old, and you get a star whose risk isn't worth £10 million.

It's obvious Arsenal wants an effective striker, and David Villa could be that man. He could also be a disaster waiting to happen.

Bottom line, he's not worth the risk.