Arsenal Transfer News: Paulo Dybala Fee Met, Thierry Henry Return Guaranteed

With Olivier Giroud back in the first-team fold and summer signing Danny Welbeck among the goals, you’d think Arsene Wenger would be pretty content with the striker options currently at his disposal. 

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But a host of reports suggest the Gunners remain in the market for further forward reinforcements, as the Emirates outfit look to build a squad capable of challenging the might of Chelsea and Manchester City next season.

Wenger’s long-term plans are expected to see Arsenal turn to Palermo’s exciting young centre-forward Paulo Dybala. David Wright of the Express—writing under the headline "Arsenal Agree to Meet Palermo's £31m Asking Price"—claimed that the “next Sergio Aguero” could leave the Rosanero next summer and both the Gunners and Manchester United are willing to meet the club's demands.

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But as noted in Wright’s piece, Palermo clearly value their man highly. “Within two years, he's going to be better than Cristiano Ronaldo, [Lionel] Messi and [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic,” claimed club president Maurizio Zamparini. “It would take €40m (£31m) to take him away from us. He's the best striker in Serie A.”

Here’s a look at what all the fuss is about:

It’s easy to see exactly why Palermo are so keen to keep their young star at the Favorita. Not only is he outrageously talented, but he’s only just beginning to repay the faith the Sicilian club put in him when splashing out €12 million to get him on board in 2012. Before they eventually cash in, you suspect the Serie A side will be wanting to get their money’s worth too.

Indeed, £31 million is a lot to pay for Arsenal, especially for a capricious young player who has yet to put together a season of consistent displays. “He can’t think that a game is over after a couple of pieces of skill” noted his former coach Gennaro Gattuso, per James Horncastle of WhoScored.com. “He needs to run more, lay on more assists, score more.”

That could lead the Gunners to target a more experienced, refined forward option and that could come in the form of Andre-Pierre Gignac, who has admitted he is likely to leave Marseille at the end of the current campaign. 

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The French international has previously been linked with a move to the Emirates, per Liam Prenderville of The Mirror, and Arsenal’s hopes of getting him on board have been handed a boost after the player told Gazzetta dello Sport a transfer looks increasingly likely (h/t GetFootballNewsFrance.com):

"

As a child I dreamed of becoming a professional and playing for Marseille. But now at the end of the season I think I will move on. 

Inter? It is an institution, with the great Mancini at the helm. I watch all the big leagues, but also the Russian and Turkish ones.

"

Gignac is what you’d categorise as a “proper” target man, but he’s a player that has an element of flair to his game, too. Physically he’s an imposing presence, but his link play is astute and his spatial awareness is excellent. Stylistically, he looks like a perfect fit for the Premier League and Bleacher Report’s French football expert Andrew Gibney thinks the player would be ideal for an English club:

Arsenal already have a player that boasts comparable attributes to Gignac in Giroud, though. Gignac would give the Gunners another body in that area, but the very best strike forces have different strings to their bow. While the Marseille man has been excellent this season, it’s difficult to see quite what he’d add to this current squad.

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One man who could bring plenty is club legend Thierry Henry, however. The forward has stated he will be leaving New York Red Bulls in search of a new challenge, and the Arsenal manager has claimed it’s inevitable that the Gunners’ all-time top scorer will end up back at the Emirates:

Whether or not that is as a player remains a major doubt, per Alan Brazil of talkSPORT:

For young players coming through the ranks at Arsenal, Henry would be a majestic influence to have around. There a few men who harbour quite the same affinity with the Londoners, and his incomparable experience would be an invaluable source for upcoming and current players to tap into.

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Although he has already had one memorable spell back with the Gunners on loan, unfortunately Henry doesn’t quite have the physicality to cope with the abrasive nature of the Premier League anymore. It’s not something Wenger ruled out, though, and stranger things have certainly happened.