Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger feels that he must buy a new striker but must decide whether to go for a long term target now or a stop gap until next summer.
The Gunners will be without their two main strikers for the FA Cup tie against Tottenham at the Emirates on Saturday. Frenchman Olivier Giroud is suffering from illness after recovering from an ankle injury while Nicklas Bendtner could be ruled out for two months.
Arsenal were linked with a move for Atletico Madrid’s striker Diego Costa, who has a reported £32m buy-out clause, but Wenger feels the price tag is more than that. Costa would be an ideal signing for the Gunners no doubt, but getting him in January is practically next to impossible.
When Wenger was asked whether we could consider buying Costa in January, the Frenchman replied as quoted in The Mirror:
“What, £145m?! Honestly, you want to keep your chances in the season at the best possible level.”
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho on the other hand has insisted that buying a striker is not a priority for the Blues at the moment. The Londoners however, could sign Fredy Guarin from Inter Milan, while reports in Italy suggested that Juan Mata could be involved in a swap deal.
Mourinho previously claimed that ‘door is open’ for Juan Mata but stated yesterday that he doesn’t want to see the Spaniard leaving the club.
“But yes, it hurts me. He’s a good kid, he works hard and I know it’s not easy situation for him not to be playing every time.
“If he came to me and said he wants to leave, I would say, ‘Go to Stamford Bridge and speak with the board.’ And while he was on his way there, I’d call the board to say ‘Don’t let him go!”‘
Meanwhile, the future of midfielder Kevin De Bruyne still hangs on the balance, as Chelsea are unwilling to let the Belgian go on cheap, and are thought to want £25m for him.
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