Gonzalo Higuain: Why Arsenal Should Go All Out to Sign Real Madrid Striker

Gonzalo Higuain appears to be just one more member of the Real Madrid first team right now as he trains for the new season. But as the Argentine does the hard yards in the Spanish capital, he knows that he may well not be at the Bernabeu when the real action begins. 

The most persistent speculation places Pipita in the same division as countrymen and international team colleagues Pablo Zabaleta, Sergio Aguero and Fabricio Coloccini. Arsenal have been heavily linked to the scorer; but is Higuain the player Arsene Wenger's team need to regain their place at the top of the Premier League? 

In short, Higuain would give the Gunners something they have lacked at least since Robin van Persie left, possibly for even longer. That is, an out-and-out goalscorer with the ability to net with both feet and his head. 

Few would argue that, at his best, Higuain can be considered comfortably among the five best strikers in the world, and if Arsenal can close a deal it would speak volumes of Wenger's ambition ahead of the coming season. 

But how likely is the deal? What exactly will Arsenal be getting for their outlay?

At the start of July, a transfer appeared almost inevitable. Fox Sports Latin America (via The Guardian's Sid Lowe) quoted Higuain's father and representative, Jorge, affirming that completion was imminent: 

"We managed to get permission from Real Madrid to negotiate face to face with Arsenal," he said. "Fortunately, I will soon be able to watch my son play in the Premier League."

The figure mooted by the English newspaper was a hefty £23 million, which would be Arsenal's single biggest transfer fee ever. Not to mention his reported wage packet, which would earn the Argentina international an estimated £100,000 a week. 

At 25, though, this kind of spending, high as it is, could prove to be a bargain when talking about a striker who still has seven or eight years at the top. Higuain's goalscoring stats, from the moment he broke into the Madrid first team barely out of his teenage years, have also rarely been short of impressive. 

While 2012-13 was one of the Argentine's worst seasons since moving to Europe, 19 goals in 44 games was a reasonable return for someone who struggled for regular playing time and made his fair share of appearances off the bench. An overall record in La Liga of 106 goals in 188 appearances is a very respectable record: as are the 20 strikes he has racked up for Argentina after just 32 caps. 

In contrast, Arsenal top scorer Theo Walcott managed just 14 goals throughout the Premier League season. It may have been a personal best for the forward, but at 24—just one year younger than Higuain, despite his constant billing as the "next big thing" in English football—it is doubtful he will ever be the prolific scorer Pipita has already proved to be. 

The transfer trail has run slightly cold since Higuain Sr. placed his son inside the Premier League with Arsenal.

What is certain is that Higuain would be a fantastic asset for Wenger's outfit. The risks and investment are high, but if Pipita finds his best form in the more physical, more direct Premier League, it could prove to be a match made in heaven.