Arsenal Transfer News: Paco Alcacer Must Top Gunners' January Wish List

Arsenal are reportedly positioning themselves to make a January move for Valencia star Paco Alcacer, and while the striker position isn't a major need for the Gunners, the young Spain international offers too much upside to pass up the chance to sign him.

According to the Daily Mirror's Tom Hopkinson (for the Sunday People), the 21-year-old is yet to sign his current club's contract extension that holds a release clause of roughly £15 million, alerting both Arsenal and Chelsea he might be available.

Alcacer has made a flying start to the 2014-15 season, scoring two goals and assisting once in his first three La Liga matches, per WhoScored.com. He also made his starting debut for Spain's national team, and per OptaJose, it was quite successful:

His talent was already on full display in 2013-14, when he emerged as Valencia's top option at the striker position, but the youngster seems to have made quite the leap during the summer.

He's moving better, attacking the ball and getting more involved in the buildup play as opposed to waiting for the play to come to him. BeIN Sports' David Cartlidge agrees:

Alcacer has always been a superb finisher, with a high football IQ and the vision to time his runs perfectly. He has all of the technical skills you could want out of a classic in-the-box striker, and the body to anchor the attack on his own.

But it was his work rate that stood out when he made his first start for La Roja against Macedonia. He played like a 10-year veteran, linking up expertly with his teammates to the point some analysts believed he had looked better in Vicente Del Bosque's system than Diego Costa ever has.

Cartlidge believes the debate will continue:

ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan thinks Alcacer has already done more in his short international career than the current Chelsea ace:

Alcacer might not be the most widely known striker to the casual fan, but if he played his football for any of La Liga's top three sides, things would be different. If his refusal to sign a new deal turns into a desire to leave Valencia, Arsenal have to pounce.

The Gunners don't need a striker. Danny Welbeck just arrived over the summer, Olivier Giroud is slowly being nursed back to health and Yaya Sanogo is incredibly raw, but still very talented.

All three are solid options—none of them have the long-term upside of Alcacer. The Spaniard has the potential to be a world-class poacher with the physical attributes to fit Arsene Wenger's system, both as a pure scorer and a cog in the team's attacking machine.

Chelsea are reportedly interested, but Alcacer has already spent more time behind Costa on the Spanish bench than he would like—unless there's no other option, he won't replicate the situation with the Blues.

Spanish giants Real Madrid will likely get involved once it becomes clear he wants to leave, but they too already have an established world-class starter in Karim Benzema.

At Arsenal, Alcacer would face a fair fight to start. And it's a fight he'd fully expect to win. At the age of 21, he still has plenty of room for growth, but he already looks ready to relegate the likes of Welbeck and Giroud to the bench.

The Gunners need defensive depth and a holding midfielder, and both issues should be addressed in January. But if you have the opportunity to sign world-class talent for as little as £15 million, you just have to take it.

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