Arsenal Transfer News: Latest on Gonzalo Higuain and Tomas Rosicky Rumours

Gonzalo Higuain has been tipped to link up with Arsenal over Premier League rivals Chelsea by former Napoli striker Jose Alberti.  

Speaking to Calcio Napoli 24 (h/t Izzy Horsefield of the Daily Express), Alberti believes Higuain's previous experience under Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid would stop him from joining the Portuguese manager at Stamford Bridge: "Mourinho didn't play him, so I don't think he would go to Chelsea. In my opinion, I'm 90 percent sure he will go to Arsenal. It could be a minimum of €5 million (a year). It is not possible that a player like him wants to remain at Napoli this year after missing out on the Champions League."

Getty Images/Getty Images

Higuain also continues to be linked with a potential move to Manchester United, as reported by Italian outlet Calciomercatoweb.it (h/t James Cambridge of the Daily Express, via Horsefield). The Argentinian striker netted 18 goals in Serie A during the 2014-15 campaign, but this wasn't enough to land Napoli a place in Europe's elite competition.

The club only managed Europa League qualification last season, so Higuain hasn't appeared in the Champions League since scoring four in five matches for Napoli during '13-14. He is a top-class finisher, someone whose movement inside the box regularly wins matches.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger should be looking for a player of this style to improve his attack. Olivier Giroud isn't great at making darting runs inside the box and is better suited at starting and rounding off moves from outside the area.

Clive Mason/Getty Images

Theo Walcott's late-season emergence in his preferred striking role suggests Wenger will continue to utilise him there when the next term begins. Maintaining both and adding Higuain would provide the manager with excellent options, especially considering Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez can play further forward if needed.

Wenger will likely be looking to move unneeded players on before making acquisitions. Despite signing a new contract in March, midfielder Tomas Rosicky is being linked with a move to Turkish sides Trabzonspor and Bursaspor, per the Daily Mirror (h/t Alex Harris of the Daily Star).

Rosicky played just 576 minutes worth of football in the Premier League during '14-15, as recorded by WhoScored.com.

He is frustrated with the lack of opportunities given since Wenger triggered his one-year extension option, per Harris: "Since the moment Arsene Wenger used the option in my contract, I haven't even been on the bench. I'm laughing but it's not funny."

Ian Walton/Getty Images

Versatile forward Joel Campbell could follow Rosicky out the door, with the Sun (h/t Harris) suggesting Real Sociedad are "keen" on his services. The Costa Rican could also be the subject of a tug-of-war between Turkish rivals Fenerbahce and Galatasaray.

Campbell put in a handful of excellent performances at the 2014 World Cup, entering the Brazilian tournament after a quality spell with Greek side Olympiacos. Despite threatening to break into Wenger's team, the 22-year-old managed just 39 minutes of play in the Premier League before being loaned to Villarreal during the recently finished campaign, per WhoScored.

B/R UK's Andy Brassell recently looked at players Wenger should sell, loan and keep ahead of the new season:

Higuain would be a quality, long-overdue signing if he does arrive at the Emirates Stadium. He is capable of rounding off Arsenal's pacey counter-attacks while also providing competition for Giroud and Walcott, two players who are prone to bouts of inconsistency.

Wenger's summer additions must be well calculated—there's no point adding numbers if they don't bring anything new to the squad—and his ridding of the Gunners' deadwood must be ruthless. This is the only way he will turn the north London side into genuine title contenders again.