Arsenal Transfer News: Latest on Gonzalo Higuain and Thomas Vermaelen Rumours

Arsenal have been given a boost in their pursuit of Napoli forward Gonzalo Higuain after the Argentinian reportedly turned down a huge offer to join Chinese Super League club Hebei China Fortune.

According to Sky Sports News HQ's Kaveh Solhekol, the 28-year-old was offered a staggering weekly wage of £800,000 to move to the Far East:

The fact that Higuain reportedly turned down such a colossal offer is surely good news for Arsenal as it seems to indicate that he wants to remain in European football.

The Gunners have been heavily linked with the former Real Madrid man for some time, with recent reports indicating the north London club are prepared to use Olivier Giroud as a bargaining chip in their attempts to sign Higuain, per Gianluca Di Marzio (via Luke Gardener in the Daily Star).

Had the Argentina international taken up the reported chance to move to China, Arsenal would have needed to look elsewhere for a much-needed strike addition.

As it stands, though, he remains on the market. It has long been reported that Napoli will not sell Higuain for anything less than his £78 million release clause, hence the need for Arsenal to use Giroud in a potential player-plus-cash deal, per Closs Continental (via Andrew Richardson in the Sun).

Arsenal need a new frontman, as Giroud is simply not prolific enough in front of goal for a club with Premier League title ambitions.

The Frenchman has never netted more than 16 goals in an English top-flight campaign, while Higuain scored 36 times for Napoli in the 2015-16 Serie A season, the type of return that could win Arsenal the Premier League for the first time since 2004, per WhoScored.com.

Season	Higuain (Division)	Giroud (Division)
2015-16	36 (Serie A)	16 (Premier League)
2014-15	18 (Serie A)	14 (Premier League)
2013-14	17 (Serie A)	16 (Premier League)
2012-13	16 (La Liga)	11 (Premier League)
2011-12	22 (La Liga)	21 (Ligue 1)
2010-11	10 (La Liga)	12 (Ligue 1)
2009-10	27 (La Liga)	21 (Ligue 2)

It will require a huge outlay from Arsenal to snap Higuain up, but he remains on the market having reportedly turned down the opportunity to move to China.

Meanwhile, Barcelona centre-back and former Gunner Thomas Vermaelen is reportedly holding out on a deal to join West Ham United as he waits for the opportunity to return to the Emirates Stadium.

VI-Images/Getty Images

According to Spanish outlet Sport (via the Telegraph's Giles Mole and Sam Dean), the 30-year-old—who has endured an injury-plagued two years at Barca since moving to the Camp Nou from Arsenal in 2014 for £15 million—is "waiting for [Gunners manager] Arsene Wenger to make the move to lure him back to the Emirates."

The report added that Barca want £10 million for Vermaelen, who proved with an excellent showing for Belgium at Euro 2016 that he still has what it takes to perform at a high level, per ESPN FC's John Chapman.

However, in reality, Arsenal need to sign an up-and-coming centre-back who can be a stalwart of their defence in the future, rather than return for an injury-prone Vermaelen who is arguably past his peak.