Arsenal's No. 1 January Transfer Target

Arsenal did a lot right over the 2013 summer transfer.

They offloaded a stack of players to help free up their wage bill and then brought in world-class playmaker Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid for £42 million.

There were obviously still players whom the Gunners would liked to have signed on deadline day and throughout the window, but for the most part, Arsene Wenger was able to fill the vast majority of the club's needs. Their biggest outstanding issue appears to be at the top of their attack, and as a result, you'd expect that to be the area Arsenal look to address first in the January transfer window.

With that in mind, look for Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko to be the club's No. 1 target in January.

Olivier Giroud is the only recognized top-class striker in their current squad, and while the Frenchman has been in superb form to start the season, questions must be asked about his longevity.

Can Giroud play 50 games by himself? Can he play 55? 60?

Arsenal do have the likes of Yaya Sanogo and Park Chu-Young capable of playing smaller rounds of the Capital One Cup and potentially even an FA Cup tie or two, but they simply aren't capable of filling the incredibly big shoes Giroud has made at the top of the Gunners' attack.

The club doesn't even have someone like Lukas Podolski to call on for that role, with the German international out for up to three months with injury, per The Associated Press (via The Republic).

Thus Arsenal need a striker, and Dzeko could well need a club by January.

After finding his way into the Citizens' starting team alongside Sergio Aguero at the beginning of the season, Dzeko is already starting to be looked over by manager Manuel Pellegrini for the likes of Alvaro Negredo.

That is only likely to get worse once Stevan Jovetic is healthy enough for selection, and while there are going to be plenty of smaller opportunities for Dzeko, he'll want to be playing consistent minutes in the big games. For now, it doesn't appear he'll get that in Manchester.

The Bosnia international was linked with a move to Arsenal over the summer, per the Daily Mail, and while that didn't eventuate, expect Wenger to press again. City have shown they aren't afraid to make something happen in January with their sale of Mario Balotelli, so don't be surprised to see another one of their high-profile strikers leave the club over the winter window.

With Dzeko, the Gunners would be very strong indeed.

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