Arsenal Transfer News: Latest Odion Ighalo, Olivier Giroud Rumours

Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores has reportedly welcomed interest in striker Odion Ighalo, a reported target for Arsenal in the summer transfer window. That's good news for a Gunners club that has consistently tried to upgrade current frontman Olivier Giroud.

The Hornets boss has told reporters the interest in Ighalo merely reflects his fine performances, as well as Watford's overall impressive form this season, per Goal's Joe Wright:

"

He is one of the best strikers in the division so [speculation] is very normal.

It's good. I love speculation for all the players in the squad.

It means the performance of the team is good, every teams want players of Watford so we are doing something well and it's good news for our team.

"

The North London club have been linked with the prolific Nigerian recently. John Cross of the Daily Mirror reported the Gunners have made the player valued at £20 million "one of the strikers at the top of their shortlist for summer strikers."

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Cross made the report after Arsenal's recent 2-0 home defeat to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League. That result marked the 10th time in all competitions the Gunners have failed to score this season, per the club's official site.

If Arsenal chief Arsene Wenger needed a reminder of how much his squad needs a natural finisher, that depressing number provides it.

Part of the problem is the struggle in front of goal currently experienced by centre-forward Giroud. The towering Frenchman hasn't found the net in his last eight games, the "joint-worst goal drought during his time at Arsenal," according to Metro's Will Giles.

Wenger is aware of Giroud's shortcomings, trying to replace him with any one of three top stars: Luis Suarez, Karim Benzema and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, per Spanish journalist Kike Marin (h/t Metro's George Bellshaw).

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

What Wenger needs is a striker who combines pace, power and a true eye for the goal. That type of forward isn't always easy to find, but Ighalo has fit the bill during an excellent first season in the Premier League, a campaign that has also attracted interest from Manchester United and Chelsea, per Ryan Daly of the Manchester Evening News.

B/R's Dean Jones recently questioned whether Wenger will pay the fee required to land Ighalo:

The 26-year-old has scored 14 times in England's top flight, according to WhoScored.com. He's not even strictly a true striker, often drifting onto the right of the attack or occupying the pockets of space just off target man Troy Deeney.

But Ighalo embodies the qualities Wenger likes to emphasise up front, namely versatility, quickness and intelligent movement. Playing in a team as fluid as Arsenal, where players love to pass the ball in rapid combinations, would help make Ighalo a roving centre-forward who would frighten defences.

Wenger can't possibly put a limit on the value of that type of threat. While Giroud's impact as a link player in the current team is beyond question, his inconsistency as a finisher means he's always going to seem ripe to be upgraded.

Flores' words will hardly deter suitors, so Wenger shouldn't waste a second making sure he lands Ighalo ahead of the competition this summer. He can turn the Watford star into the flexible workhorse the Gunners need to lead the line.