Having failed in their pursuit of Gonzalo Higuain and Jamie Vardy, Arsenal have now turned their attentions to Man City striker Wilfried Bony.
The Gunners are desperate to sign a striker this summer, with their pursuit of Jamie Vardy being one of the main talking points in the summer transfer window’s early days. They have most recently been linked with Inter Milan captain and striker Mauro Icardi, but the Serie A club are unwilling to let go of the 23-year-old Argentine striker for any price.
The latest striker being linked with Arsenal is Manchester City’s forgotten Ivorian Wilfried Bony. According to the Daily Star, a number of key figures in the Gunners hierarchy are urging manager Arsene Wenger to sanction a £30 million offer for the 27-year-old striker, but the Frenchman is not yet fully convinced.
Although this could be termed as a panic buy by the London club, they will still have to move quickly to secure the Ivorian. According to the Sun, Everton under Ronald Koeman have also identified Bony as a possible alternative to Romelu Lukaku, who is being heavily linked with a move back to Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal are facing many difficulties in signing a striker and Bony wouldn’t necessarily be a bad move. Bony moved from Swansea City to Manchester City in January last year for £25 million. The Ivorian had a good record with the Swans, scoring 17 league goals in his debut season and ending up with a tally of 35 goals in 70 appearances for the club in all competitions.
The 27-year-old’s move to City always meant that he would play second fiddle to prolific Argentine striker Sergio Aguero, but his role at the club has been further reduced by the emergence of teenage Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho. He still has the potential to become a good Premier League striker given enough game time and could still lead the line for two or three seasons to come.
Bony would also be a good fit at Everton, as Ronald Koeman looks to deal with the departure of John Stones to City and the imminent exit of Romelu Lukaku. The transfer window shuts in less than a month and Arsenal will have to act quickly if they want to boost their strike force this summer.
