What Higuain Would Bring?

Is Higuain set to sign?

It has become a transfer saga. Such is the hype and speculation surrounding Gonzalo Higuain's next move it is unsurprising that his future has become ever present in the back pages. At this moment in time it appears as those Arsenal are the frontrunners for his signature, with some sources even claiming the deal is all but signed off. With that in mind, this post will take a look at what the Argentinian forward could bring to the club and assess whether he would be a good signing.

Just one glance at Higuain's stats and one thing instantly screams at you, goals. For his career as a whole Higuain averages a goal every other game, while for Madrid he netted 106 league goals in 188 games. For Argentina his record is even more impressive, with the striker scoring 20 goals in just 32 games.

He is a goal scorer, a poacher. Indeed this is something we have lacked for years.

During his time as manager Wenger has shied away from buying players who are poachers. Perhaps the signing of Francis Jeffers in 2001 for £8 million has put him off dipping his toes into this market again. It could also be the fact that Wenger requires all of his players to be technically capable and versatility, meaning they are able to drift around the pitch and effect the game from positions outside of their comfort zone. Poachers are notoriously unable to does this, with players like van Nistelrooy occupying the penalty box from the first to the last minute.

The signing of Eduardo in 2008 marked Wenger's decision to reignite his use of a poacher. The Croatian was a success in his early time with the club, however the breaking of his leg meant his was never able to rekindled the form he once showed. But his signing certainly demonstrated that Wenger was once again considering the possibility of employing a poacher.

If we did bring in Higuain I think he would be an instant success. The 25 year old thrives of chances and at Arsenal he would have plenty of them. He would also be the main man for the Gunners, the fulcrum of their attacking unit. This was never the case for Gonzalo at Real Madrid. More often than not Higuain would have to put up with rotating the number 9 role with Karim Benzema, something which was undoubtedly a factor in his decision to leave the club.

As to whether or not the deal will happen, I am very optimistic. Numerous sources claim that any deal is imminent and the fact that Juventus have signed Tevez and Llorente means we face no real competition for his signature.

One point also worth mentioning is Jack Wilshere decided to follow Higuain on twitter yesterday, an odd move to take considering Gonzalo does not tweet in English. Is this a sign he is set to join? Or is Jack simply trolling us? I think and would hope the former is more likely here.

Thanks for reading,

Come on you Gooners!