Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has reportedly made Inter Milan captain Mauro Icardi a prime target as he looks to bolster his striking options this January.

Wenger‘s need for another striker is exacerbated by loan interest in talented youngster Alex Iwobi, while Premier League rivals Chelsea have already moved to try to beat Arsenal to Nigerian hotshot Kelechi Nwakali.

In this context, Icardi remains a likely target during the winter transfer window. In fact, unnamed reports from Italy (h/t the Daily Telegraph) stated that the Gunners will bid for Icardi in January.

Yet those same reports stress how Icardi‘s form has dipped since last season: “Without the armband, the Argentine struck 27 goals in 48 games during the last campaign, however, he is still trying to rediscover his sparking form with the added responsibilities.”

Icardi has hit four league goals in 11 Serie A matches this season, according to WhoScored.com. But despite his lukewarm start to the new campaign, Inter apparently remain committed to the gifted 22-year-old:

And earlier this week, Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio said the Italians would not entertain any offers for Icardi.

Ausilio claimed the forward is not available for any price and when asked what his response would be if Arsenal came calling, he said: ‘I’d hang up.’

Wenger‘s need for a striker is too great to heed the Inter board’s warning, though. The Frenchman is already counting the cost of injuries to Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck. Joel Campbell’s failure to develop hasn’t helped fill the void.

Without the pace Walcott and Welbeck offer, the Gunners have become one-dimensional up front. Ex-Montpellier target man Olivier Giroud is gamely attempting to carry the load, but his lack of pace and varied movement has reduced the fluent vibrancy of Arsenal’s attacking play.

Wenger needs to add another goalscorer this winter if he’s going to keep his banged-up squad in this season’s title race. Until then, Giroud will be overworked; he may not even be able to count on a promising fringe player to help him out.

 

Championship Teams Queuing Up for Iwobi Loan

If Birmingham City or Reading have their way, 19-year-old Iwobi will spend a portion of this season plying his trade in the Championship. Both teams are keen on the teenage attacker, according to Alex Harris of the Daily Star, who stated that the Royals have even been scouting Iwobi ahead of potentially sealing a temporary switch.

Reading are taking the more proactive measures, but a move to Birmingham may intrigue Wenger more. After all, free-scoring midfielder Jon Toral is already on loan with City. Even a young Nicklas Bendtner spent time on loan at Birmingham during the formative stages of his ill-fated Arsenal career.

Wenger knows his loan charges will get playing time at St. Andrew’s, and Iwobi needs the minutes. He struggled to impose himself in a rare start during Arsenal’s 3-0 Capital One Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. On the night, Wenger chided Iwobi and his other young guns as “not ready to play at this level,” via Goal‘s Matthew Sherry.

A loan move is just what Iwobi needs, based on those remarks.

 

Chelsea Trying to Win Nwakali Race

Chelsea are apparently getting serious about signing budding teenage star Nwakali. The player’s agent confirmed the Blues as one of the teams with which he’s in contact, according to All Nigeria Soccer (h/t Metro‘s Sean Kearns).

The agent also made it clear signing his client won’t be cheap: “We are in contact with Chelsea, Udinese and Olympiakos. Udinese made a ridiculous offer of €800,000 for the Most Valuable Player of the FIFA Under 17 World Cup.”

Nwakali‘s representative has also stated that he’s made contact with the Gunners but has “received no feedback yet.”

Arsenal’s reported reticence is somewhat surprising. Wenger has a strong history of giving African players a chance. He discovered George Weah while at AS Monaco and brought Kolo Toure to Arsenal.

Yet while Wenger has always indulged in taking punts on the promise of youth, his current needs are more immediately pressing. A talented youngster like Nwakali would struggle to fill the void in attack that the title-chasing squad is trying to overcome.

This is one time when Wenger would be wise to skew potential in favour of more established options.

Wenger has to make recruiting a striker his winter transfer priority. Walcott is just too brittle to be counted on, Giroud is inconsistent and even a fit-again Welbeck is goal-shy.

The Gunners need more options up front, or their title challenge will falter sooner rather than later this season.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1MPk2TG
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J