Liverpool’s transfer dealings in recent years have quite rightly come under considerable scrutiny. The highly-publicised example has been Andy Carroll, whose £35million move from Newcastle in January 2011 has to no surprise been a huge failure, with the England forward exiled to Upton Park on a season-long loan where his performances have been good but still yet to recapture his successes during the Magpies’ campaign amid their return to the Premier League.

But Carroll’s move was just the tip of the ice-berg during an era of irresponsible spending and contract offers under former Liverpool managers Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish as well as Sporting Director Damien Comolli. The French scout was also responsible for some of the Reds’ worst transfer dealings, including Stewart Downing’s £20million move from Aston Villa, despite just recording just nine goals and ten assists during his time at Villa Park, and failing to score or create a goal in his first 44 Premier League appearances for the Anfield club.

But out of the long list of transfer faux pas at Liverpool, which include Paul Konchesky, Charlie Adam, Joe Cole, Robbie Keane and more recently Fabio Borini and Jordan Henderson, has emerged a rare gem.

Luis Suarez, bought for £22million from Ajax back in 2011 is proving to be the club’s smartest piece of business since the signing of Fernando Torres for a similar price. The Uruguayan international has been setting the Premier League alight this season, with 21 goals and four assists in 27 domestic appearances, and at times he’s been a saving grace for Brendan Rodgers during his inaugural campaign.

At first glance, and certainly at the time, £22million appeared to be a fair price for a striker who had a prolific record in the Eredivise, and had a decent if rather uninspiring goal tally in his first 18 months in England. But this season, upon reflection, the Uruguayan’s price-tag is looking more and more like an absolute steal.

Compare his record with some of the recent deals in the English market, and it becomes obvious of just how solid the £22million investment truly has been. Sergio Aguero for example, cost Manchester City £38million, which broke the club’s record transfer spend back in summer 2011.

Although I would still argue its money well spent, considering the Argentine international helped the club lift the Premier League title in his first season, Liverpool have managed to acquire a striker for £16million less that looks set to match Aguero’s goal tally from last year, if not improve upon it, leading to rumours at the start of the season speculating a move regarding Suarez to the blue side of Manchester. Furthermore, Suarez has the possibility in his next ten games to equal Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler’s record of 28 goals in a single season.

Even looking at less high profile signings, it is clear to see that it was money well spent. Aston Villa forked out £18million for Darren Bent a few years ago, which could potentially rise to £24million, despite the former England international being half the player that Suarez has proven to be.

Similarly, Sunderland had to spend £16million to bring in Steven Fletcher, even though the forward’s final standing for a Premier League season has been just 12 goals. And of course, the move that was the prologue for Suarez’s move to Anfield; the £50million wasted by Chelsea on former Liverpool star Fernando Torres.

The problem I have with the majority of Liverpool’s recent transfers is that compared to their initial fees, the players have no real resale value. I recently wrote an article discussing this issue, which was received by comments arguing the contrary. One Liverpool fan argued that Stewart Downing could be sold on for around £6million, and Andy Carroll £12million -the latter being a rather optimistic estimate in my opinion – but is the collective £18million really an acceptable return on the English pairing that cost an overall of £55million, that have scored just six goals between them in two years at the club?

However, the same cannot be said for Suarez, who is reportedly a transfer target for almost every European elite club, most notably Bayern Munich and Manchester City, with prices ranging from £40million to £50million – not a bad profit for a striker who all in all has had one exceptional season for Liverpool.

And although Liverpool fans may not wish to admit it, selling their controversial figure may become a real possibility in the summer. It is clear to see that Suarez enjoys being at Anfield; he often plays with a cheeky grin as he hassles opposition defenders by nipping at their ankles, and there is no doubt he responds positively to the ever-in-song Kop faithful.

But he is 26 years old and must always have his career in mind. Champions League football is surely his number one priority, and although he will give his all this season to help Liverpool return to the promised land of Europe’s top club competition, should they fail to mount a successful late surge for fourth place he will have some difficult decisions to make in the next transfer window.

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However, should the Liverpool talisman leave, the blame should not be placed on him. It would be wrong to brand Suarez as a traitor or a Judas. If the club are forced to sell, should an offer come in that cannot be refused, it will be due to the club’s other poor acquisitions that over time have depreciated the value of the team and lead to the Reds shifting from being outside title contenders and Champions League regulars to a mid-table side.

Although the Uraguayan’s departure would be a tough pill to swallow for Liverpool fans, and it would be a shame to see him move abroad as he has been one of the cornerstones of the Premier League this season, there is a silver lining. His potential £50million fee, of which over half would be no-strings attached profit, could be exactly the type of investment required to return the Anfield club to their past glories.

The Reds have a lot of promising youngsters on their books, and recently signed Daniel Sturridge and Phillipe Coutinho – two rather smart pieces of business. If the Suarez transfer kitty can be put to equally good use, Brendan Rodgers would have the freedom to build on the solid base he has formed this season and further improve upon it by bringing in players that fit the style he wishes to create and institutionalise at Liverpool. Of course, it will be viewed by many as a step in the wrong direction, but sometimes you have to go backwards to go forward.

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Liverpool looked to have picked up one of the bargains of the January transfer window when they signed Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea, but after an extremely bright start to life at Anfield, he seems to have gone off the boil in recent weeks, with manager Brendan Rodgers seemingly unsure how best to use him, calling into question quite where he fits in the side in the long-term.

Whenever signing for a new club, it’s important to hit the ground running, and if you’re a striker, preferably bag an early goal to prove the doubters wrong and Sturridge did exactly that, getting off the mark in the team’s 2-1 defeat away at Old Trafford before following that up with one more in the 5-0 hammering of Norwich at home, which added to his debut goal in the FA Cup against Mansfield made him the first Liverpool player to score three goals in their first three appearances for the side since Ray Kennedy achieved the same feat in 1974.

Already the talk was centred on what a great deal Rodgers had pulled off and why Chelsea, with just Fernando Torres and the recently signed Demba Ba, felt the need to ditch such a clearly talented player. The question marks over his application and work-rate were dispelled by a series of vibrant attacking displays, full of creativity, awareness and tactical versatility and he seems to be striking up something of a relationship with fellow forward Luis Suarez.

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However, flash forward and there’s a case to be made at the moment that the system has evolved without him during his recent short spells on the sidelines with niggling thigh and hamstring injuries. He’s missed three of the team’s last seven league outings due to injury and during one of those games away at Wigan, Suarez managed to grab a hat-trick.

That can be no coincidence and in his first five appearances, of which the club scored 15 goals, Sturridge recorded an impressive 89% pass completion rate, created 11 chances for his team-mates and scored four goals with a shot accuracy of 62%, all evidence of a player clearly in form.

In his last three outings, the team have picked up four points, scored just four goals and the 23-year-old England international looks to have gone off the boil to a degree, with his pass accuracy dropping to 79%, his shot accuracy way down at 57% and the simple fact that he failed to find the back of the net. Peaks and troughs in form are inevitable consequences of niggling injuries, so it’s effectively difficult to tell which is the Sturridge the club have got on their hands for the next few years, while it can’t be easy to transition to a completely new side mid-season, so in that respect he deserves a great deal of credit.

Nevertheless, it’s his starting position that is the most troubling issue to ponder, because the current Liverpool side looks a lot more balanced without him and starting Philippe Coutinho and Stewart Downing either side of Suarez down the flanks, both looking to drift inside in a role that Rodgers usually refers to as ‘inverted wingers’.

During the game against Southampton, a 3-1 defeat against Mauricio Pochettino’s side who are quickly carving out a reputation for themselves as a team to watch for the future, Liverpool seriously struggled against their high pressing style and weren’t at the races all day, with the back four and midfield both abject in what looked to be the team’s worst performance since Rodgers took over in the summer.

But it’s when you realise that the side switched to something approaching a more traditional 4-4-2 formation, certainly more so than at any other time during Rodgers’ short tenure so far that the situation arises where the team’s shape is being compromised to fit in Sturridge. Coutinho and Downing both started on the flanks again, but much further back than usual, with Joe Allen and Steven Gerrard taking up the central positions.

The result was a disjointed and toothless attacking display, with Suarez unsure of whether to drop off Sturridge or continue to act as the main man in the lone central role through the middle. Whereas before the two dovetailed beautifully, now they were playing like strangers, miles apart from one another and unable to pool together any sort of coherent threat. It was painful to watch.

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With that in mind, considering Suarez is currently the Premier League’s top scorer with 22 goals and is enjoying the finest season of his club career in England, is messing with a system that’s brought the best out of him really the ideal scenario? Would it not be better to fit in Sturridge around him for the time being, possibly taking up a wider role similar to the one he occupied at Chelsea?  Much like the midfield conundrum has resulted in something of a mess, Rodgers seems puzzled as how to best integrate him in the side again at the moment.

You have to wonder with little more then local pride still to play for, with a Merseyside derby coming up and David Moyes’ side sat a place above Liverpool in the league, whether it wouldn’t be worth trying Sturridge in a new role. His tactical flexibility after all was one of the main reasons he was targeted in the first place, at least until he finds his feet again in the starting eleven, otherwise he may continue to flounder and frustrate in equal measure.

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Arsene Wenger says he needs to bring new players to Arsenal and has hinted a transfer spree could be on the cards.

The Gunners have now gone eight seasons without a trophy but following a strong end to the campaign that saw the club clinch Champions League football, optimism is high in the camp.

Wenger is looking to carry the momentum into next season but he also realises the squad needs new faces with a striker and central defender high on his wanted list.

Rumours have suggested Wenger could have as much as £70million to spend on new players and although the Frenchman is refusing to talk figures, he has hinted a spree could be on the cards.

“The last three months are a springboard for next season,” said Wenger. “We have to transfer that belief into the start of next season. We need stability and to strengthen. Is it spending a lot on one player or buying many players?

“We want additions but we want to keep the structure and spirit and quality of the team. Let’s not forget there are many clubs with big money and not enough talent to strengthen all the teams. But we will go out in a proactive way.”

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Crystal Palace striker Glenn Murray faces the most important Saturday 3pm of his career, as he undergoes a scan today to reveal the extent of his knee injury  sustained in last night’s play-off semi final at Selhurst Park.

Murray has been in prolific form this season and his goals have taken Palace to the playoffs this year and his injury in last night’s first leg tie is a massive blow for Ian Holloway’s men, ahead of the next week’s 2nd leg at the Amex Stadium.

Palace will be hoping the results of today’s scan will prove positive; however if Murray, who left the stadium on crutches, has torn his cruciate ligament that is feared then the striker will be sidelined from anything between six months to a year, leaving Ian Holloway, who is already losing Wilfried Zaha this summer, with a massive hole to fill in his squad ahead of next season.

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Ipswich Town have announced the loan signing of Ryan Tunnicliffe, the second player to join from Manchester United this season after Frederic Veseli signed a two year deal.

It appears that Mick McCarthy has used his reputation and contacts to secure these deals as both players have mentioned that they were recommended to join Ipswich by their reserve team manager Warren Joyce.

It is safe to say that if the Tractor Boys were still stuck with one their previous managers then they would not have been able to sign half the players that have joined Ipswich this summer

Tunnicliffe is a strong central midfielder who seems most comfortable in a defensive role. He is a ball winner who gets stuck in and has the footballing brain to see what others may not.

The obvious downside is that Tunnicliffe is unlikely to be much of a goal scoring threat considering he hasn’t scored a professional club goal yet. That said, you wouldn’t expect many defensive midfielders to chip in with goals and the Manchester United loanee will probably spend a lot of the time sitting just ahead of the back four.

It is thought that Tunnicliffe will be used mainly as a back up option or substitute for Luke Hyam, but some believe that he may well command a place in the starting eleven more regularly than that. He is held in high regard by the Red Devils and he could surprise a few fans with what he has to offer in the center of the park.

The other player to join from the Premier League winners is much more of an unknown quantity. Some Manchester United fans were baffled by Frederic Veseli’s release from the club as the only news they had heard was that he happy and was impressing in the youth and reserve sides.

Manchester United had gone through a lot of effort to sign Veseli from their rivals Manchester City so Sir Alex Ferguson must have seen a lot of potential in him too. Somewhere along the line something must have gone wrong, for some reason either the player must have wanted to leave or what is more likely is that he was deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford.

Throughout last season interviews with both Veseli and the reserve team manager suggested that everything was going smoothly. Apparently he was a player who always maintained a place in the reserve team and a player who would put in a solid shift regardless of what position he played.

The most likely explanation is that upon closer inspection Manchester United decided that whilst Veseli was a solid performer, he was also a utility player that would never be good enough in one position to come close to their first team.

One thing to expect with the Swiss youngster is that you may see him at right back one game then see him in midfield the next. In the Manchester United reserves side he played mostly as a defensive midfielder but it appears that McCarthy will mostly use him at right back.

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The good news is that despite Veseli’s failure to master one position it has been said he has the potential to develop into “the ultimate utility man”. Every team needs a versatile player in their squad that his highly reliable and Veseli could be that man for Ipswich.

Overall it looks unlikely that either of these players will set the Championship alight but they are great additions to complement a squad that is already looking strong.

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Adnan Januzaj was the catalyst for Manchester United’s win over Swansea on Saturday. He was the standout performer who appeared full of adventure and, crucially, ability to make the difference.

David Moyes played a key tactical card in the second half. It was the decision to swap the positions of the 18-year-old with Shinji Kagawa, who was initially deployed on the left flank, which saw both in areas where they’d be of far greater use.

Januzaj played a part in both goals, scored by Antonio Valencia and Danny Welbeck. Would United have been able to break the deadlock without him? The sense of relief was palpable. And yet even with others putting their names on the score sheet and rounding out the good work put in by Januzaj, Moyes must ensure the youngster isn’t isolated at the head of United’s revival.

It will come internally, first and foremost. There’s a need for United to enter the market this month and make changes to the team, but ahead of the crucial second leg League Cup tie against Sunderland this week, Moyes will be focused on bringing the best out of those he has in his team at this time.

With Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney watching from the sidelines, Januzaj has become United’s source of inspiration, even if it’s still hard to comprehend how a club of United’s stature have come to be in this situation. Januzaj has no right to be talisman of a club this big at this age. He hasn’t completed a full season of top flight football in his short career yet, but he seems completely at home amid the expectation and responsibility.

It’s a promising position for Moyes to be in: a lifeline that has so wonderfully emerged at the time of his appointment as successor to Alex Ferguson. Januzaj may be going through that initial season at the top where fear is completely absent. Naivety can be a great strength of young players. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the same, only to wane slightly during his sophomore season at Arsenal. Don’t dismiss how important it is that Januzaj has emerged at this time.

But Moyes has a task on his hands to bring life into the rest of the squad. The question keeps being asked as to how this group, pretty much unchanged from last season, have been able to decline at such a rapid rate. There’s ability in this side, even if they’re not showing it.

Darren Fletcher’s return has been a boost. He’s not one to shirk his responsibility and hide behind the wall complacency. It’s also promising to see Welbeck up his game as a goal scorer. With Theo Walcott out of the World Cup, there should be a drive from within Welbeck to stake his claim as Roy Hodgson’s best choice as a like-for-like in terms of goals and pace.

It’ll be about protecting Januzaj going into the remainder of the season. Whatever has or hasn’t been said in the past to United players about simulation, Moyes must take a stand against such negative publicity. Januzaj has been an offender and he’ll need to stamp that out of his game if he’s to remain on this course.

And then there’s the returning duo of Rooney and van Persie, who are both capable of single-handedly turning around United’s fortunes. There are few better in English football to partner with Januzaj for the remainder of the campaign, each able to continue to raise the youngster’s game but offer the right amount of protection from the pitfalls of the game.

If complacency is something Moyes needs to sweep away from his squad, it’s something he should also be mindful of himself. There’s a danger that too much pressure can be put on Januzaj. At present, it appears as though the player is taking that pressure, rather than it being forced on him.

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Januzaj is a building block to both putting United’s ship right this season and also to creating a strong outfit in future years. He’s not the club’s talisman yet, simply a beacon of hope for Moyes. The youngster is doing his part; he needs something back from the manager and those at the club.

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It takes a special kind of man to believe that the best person to replace themselves is them-self. But this appears to be exactly Sir Alex Ferguson’s thinking when it came to choosing his successor. In appointing David Moyes, Ferguson believed he had found the man who was most like himself, and therefore the obvious choice to continue his good work at Old Trafford. Tragically, it seems that in this great narcissistic act, Ferguson managed to overlook vanity.

One of the oft-quoted mantras from Ferguson’s time at Manchester United was ‘no one is bigger than the club’. However, it’s quite clear that he did not include himself in these rankings. He had established himself a position of unrivalled power within the Premier League club that is rarely seen in world football. Such was the extent of his influence that even in the corporate-driven world of modern football, no one questioned who would be in charge of picking his replacement once the venerable Scot decided to retire.

In his final speech at Old Trafford, the Scot laid heavy emphasis on the fan’s duty to support the next manager. Not the club, or the team, or the players, but the manager. For Ferguson, it seems that this was what football had come to be about: management. The sport itself was just a secondary aspect. It only mattered to the extent that it provided an arena in which he could have complete control of all aspects within it; the players, the media, the transfer dealings, the image of the club.

Anyone who didn’t like it was quickly discarded, regardless of value or talent. What mattered was that you subjugated to the control. Players became divided into two strict groups: ‘Manchester United players’ and ‘not Manchester United players’. It was possible to move from the first group to the second, but once you entered the second, there was no turning back.

Ferguson obviously felt that the most likely way to continue the success of Manchester United was to keep this structure in place. But in order to do so, he needed to find a man capable of handling the demands of such power. In looking for the criteria, Ferguson looked at himself. And then who better than David Moyes? A hard-working Scotsman, from a similarly humble background, with a fierce temperament and the requisite loyalty to create a second dynasty.

However, in choosing the man that most resembled himself, it seems Ferguson overlooked the one quality that he was indulging: vanity. Moyes is clearly not an egomaniac. He lacks the supreme confidence and infallibility necessary to fill the grand puppet master role that Ferguson created at Old Trafford. How can you be the main decision maker on all facets of a club as big as Manchester United if you do not have absolute conviction in your decisions?

That David Moyes is lacking in this complete belief is evident.  His reaction to his side’s lame defeat at Olympiakos was that he ‘hoped’ for another big night at Old Trafford in the return leg. Hope? Ferguson never hoped. His teams could only lose when the world had conspired against him. Some may argue that Moyes’ confidence is just low given the rough start that he has endured at Man United. However, it’s hard not to feel that Moyes was doomed for failure from the moment he revealed that Ferguson summoned him to his house to tell him he was the next Manchester United.

Anyone with the requisite ego for the Manchester United job does not get ‘told’ anything. In the vanity of trying to pick the man who was most like himself, Ferguson failed to realise that this man was different in one very important aspect: vanity itself.

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Brendan Rodgers has backed Jordan Henderson to earn a place in Roy Hodgson’s England squad for the summer’s World Cup, reports the Daily Mail.

Henderson has been a Premier League ever-present for Liverpool this season, and put in another fantastic performance during the 5-1 victory over Arsenal on Saturday.

And after watching events unfold at Anfield on Saturday, Rodgers believes the former Sunderland man would be ideal for Hodgson’s World Cup squad, in a midfield alongside club captain Steven Gerrard, and Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere.

“For me, you had the three England (midfield) players on the pitch,” Rodgers said.

“Stevie (Gerrard) playmaking from behind then two attacking players who can run, get forward and get into the box and can press. (Jack) Wilshere is a wonderful player.

“He is probably not to his (best) fitness level yet but he is a big talent, naturally gifted and can play either side and between lines.

“Jordan Henderson, tactically, is improving so much and Stevie is in the zone just behind. It would be hard to pick a better three than that.”

Henderson has started to prove he is worth every penny of the £16million Liverpool paid for him in the summer of 2011, with a series of outstanding performances this season.

The 23-year-old has contributed six assists this season, while 86% of his 1,314 passes have found their target.

“What he has shown is he is a great learner,” he added.

“If you have the ability to learn, take things on board and devote your life to your profession, then you have a great chance. That’s been the message here with all the young players.

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“We can have a great journey together here and the story going forward for us can be what we want it to be. We have a great chance to make history at this club over the next few years but you have to devote your life to it.”

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Tottenham’s recent demise has seen them slump from Champions League contenders to Premier League also-rans in a matter of months. European football is far from the guarantee it should have been this year, and with Tim Sherwood’s position bordering on the untenable this is fast turning into a nightmare season for the North Londoners.

Sherwood is battling in a race against time to prove his worth; constantly undermined by fans, press and even his employers these are a critical few weeks for the fledgling English manager.

Yet he remains a man difficult to get on board with, everything he says and does has shades of the amateur in it. People are starting to see past the fresh-faced enthusiasm into a darker and wholly more desperate side to the man.

The sense of unease and loss of control was evident when he was asked about the future of Spurs stopper Hugo Lloris; the Englishman coming up with another absurd response:

“He is one of the top goalies and unless someone is going to spend £100m on him, and keepers do not get bought for that money, I don’t think he will leave,” Sherwood told the Sunday Mirror.

“He is one of the best keepers around. Of course people are going to want him. But I’m also sure the club won’t be tempted to get rid of him.

“It was only that kind of figure that tempted the club to sell Gareth Bale and he desperately wanted to leave to progress his career at Real Madrid.”

Sherwood is supposed to be a football manager and not an auctioneer; snatching figures out of the sky isn’t going to impress anyone and certainly not a business savvy man like Daniel Levy.

Hugo Lloris has been one of the few players to impress this season. He is a real commanding presence, with the footballing intelligence to make that sweeping position at the back work and to enable to backline to push up. The Frenchman is almost certainly in that top bracket of goalkeepers, and few Spurs fans would doubt that he above all deserves to be playing Champions League football next season.

Worryingly for Spurs fans I think that he will. With only a couple of years left on his contract and plenty of suitors out there I think the time is right for Daniel Levy to cash in on his man, given that Lloris is looking increasingly unlikely to sign a new deal. This is a significant blow for the club but one that hardly comes as a surprise given their current predicament.

Like all good negotiators though Levy never looks desperate, always the man with the upper hand holding all the cards. You only have to look back at when Lloris was brought to North London to remember the sorts of underhand wrangling that Spurs employ.

An experienced head would have swerved the question rather than tried to tackle it head on, an amateurish repost from someone that clearly doesn’t know better.

Looking back on goalkeeping deals of the past you realise just how ridiculous Sherwood is. Gianluigi Buffon is the most expensive keeper ever bought for £33m back in 2001, but since then the dealings have been pretty meagre. In fact it is Manuel Neuer at £19m who comes in as the next most expensive, a stopper that many now consider the best in the world.

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Clearly a players value is whatever someone is willing to pay for them, but even so £100m is a stupidly largely figure for someone to bandy about in relation to a keeper. Spurs would be lucky to get upwards of £20m, and I imagine Daniel Levy would realise this without the economics expert Sherwood suggesting otherwise.

Sherwood feels the world is against him, that he can’t really win whatever he says.  Sometimes though the best thing to do is to just say nothing rather than to hash together some clear illogical spiel.

This may have been the Englishman trying to hold firm and appear resolute, but all he has done is to come across as the amateur many are happy to paint him as.

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It could only happen to Arsenal. On the eve of the closure of the transfer window, the team’s first-choice (and only senior) centre-forward Olivier Giroud has been ruled out with injury for up to three months following a fairly innocuous phase of play on the weekend against Everton.

It leaves Arsenal well short of options for the first half of the season, with Yaya Sango and Alexis Sanchez the only obvious choices for Arsene Wenger, and Lukas Podolski on the brink of a move away, though Giroud’s injury status may force a rethink of the sale of the German international.

Arsenal have the funds – and everyone knows it – but are the options out there? It terms of world-class centre-forwards, it seems unlikely.

But with less than a week left of the summer window, he’s a rundown of five centre-forward options for Arsene Wenger.

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Carlos Bacca

Carlos Bacca has thus far remained at Sevilla despite a belief that he’d be off this summer after the season he had last term.

The Colombian was surprisingly overlooked as a starter for his national team at the World Cup, but then other high-profile names like Jackson Martinez also saw much of the tournament in Brazil from the bench.

Bacca nevertheless has many qualities that would see him do well at Arsenal. He’s strong, quick, good in the air, and able to play the lone striker role. The move from Belgian football to Sevilla would have set him up nicely for a move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar

There’s an opportunity now for Arsene Wenger to revisit the topic of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who Arsenal were heavily linked with a few seasons back.

The Dutch international’ rigid style of play may not be to the Wenger’s liking and the system employed at the Emirates, but there’s no doubting Huntelaar’s record in front of goal.

He’s 30 now and won’t have many years left at the top of the game. But as a short-term option, natural goal scorers don’t come much better than the Schalke forward.

Wilfried Bony

Interest in Wilfried Bony has gone cold of late, but the Swansea striker is very much an option for Arsene Wenger. The Arsenal manager can take comfort in that Bony’s transition from Dutch football to the Premier League has been smooth, while his mould as a powerful striker would see him as a perfect replacement for the injured Olivier Giroud.

Bony is far from the star name fans would have wanted this summer, but he’s a Premier League experienced forward who should only cost around £15 million. A good option if there is little else at this stage of the summer.

Loic Remy

It would have been thought that Loic Remy’s move to Liverpool would have finally ended the links to Arsenal, but his failed medical at Anfield has continued those rumours, and now with Olivier Giroud out injured, Remy is one of a handful of names linked to address the centre-forward problem at Arsenal.

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It would prove to be a move that sees Arsenal go full circle, having initially reportedly been interest in the French striker at the start of the summer, but opting against his signing and leaving a clear path for Liverpool.

But Remy is still reportedly available for a knockdown fee, and as the week progresses, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him end up at the Emirates.

Danny Welbeck

Danny Welbeck would be a supremely underwhelming signing on Arsenal’s part, as it’s very difficult to see what the forward can provide beyond just hard work.

Welbeck has been linked with a move away from Manchester United this summer in a bid to secure regular football, and while that may be on offer at the Emirates (largely due to the injury record at the club), he won’t offer much that isn’t already available to Arsene Wenger.

Versatile and in tune with the demands of the Premier League are his redeeming qualities. It would be more than understandable if Arsenal fans are hoping Manchester United refuse a sale following the episode with Thomas Vermaelen.