Two of the major stories coming out of Real Madrid at this moment are that of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.
The Portuguese has recently scored his second hat-trick in back-to-back home La Liga games – helping Madrid to 12 in total against Sevilla and Real Sociedad – and has notched 24 goals in all competitions thus far, eight of which have been in four Champions League games. It’s the subplot to the bigger question: should he win the Ballon d’Or? He has his merits, though for some it’s not as strong as the cases put forward by Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery.
The other is that Gareth Bale has hit his stride since arriving (properly it seems) onto the scene and into the starting XI. He’s combined with Ronaldo and the two look to be working well. The Welshman scored twice and made two more in the 7-3 win over Sevilla alone.
But a story that should be of great importance is the reawakening of Karim Benzema.
It wasn’t too long ago that the Frenchman had one foot quite firmly out the door of the Bernabeu, with many predicting a January exit. The fans were on his back after, in their eyes, a string of lacklustre performances. Interestingly, it wasn’t that his scoring had dried up on the whole, but instead that his overall contribution left much to be desired.
Since then, he’s been fantastic, registering four goals and four assists in his last four games in all competitions.
He’s been linked with a move to Arsenal in the run-up to the January window, and regardless of any dips in form he may have, Benzema is still the best option available (?) for Arsene Wenger’s side.
Javier Hernandez is a name who is also doing the rounds due to his lack of involvement in Manchester United’s season up until this point. The Mexican is a proven goal scorer in the Premier League and is more than capable of hitting 20-plus goals over the course of a season. But is he an Arsenal player? He’s good enough, of course, but when was the last time Wenger bought a player in his mould? Eduardo, certainly; the Croatian international was the poacher that was arguably needed to round off the Arsenal team back then. But it’s not the way Wenger normally does things.
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Many of Wenger’s attacking buys come with a degree of versatility. It helps, too, due to Arsenal’s regular hit of injuries, but Wenger likes players who can do more than one job in his side. A poacher who simply hangs on the shoulder of the last defender simply doesn’t fit the mould of what Arsenal are currently doing.
In fact stretch that theory and look to teams like Barcelona and Dortmund – two teams who will regularly be compared to Arsenal for obvious reasons – and neither possess out-and-out poachers in their ranks. David Villa was the closest thing for Barcelona, and Pep Guardiola converted him into a free-scoring left-sided attacker.
Benzema, in comparison to Hernandez, does a lot in the build up. He can hold up the ball in the way Olivier Giroud has done thus far – a vital ingredient to aid the surrounding attackers in the Arsenal team – but he can also drift onto the flanks, able to use his pace to accelerate away from or towards defenders. Were it not for his flaws at Madrid, which are far from owed to a lack of ability, he’d be the complete striker.
A stumbling block is Florentino Perez. The Real Madrid president isn’t short of funds to replace Benzema, but the problem is rather linked to the fact that the Frenchman is a player he valued highly prior to his transfer, and one who he’d be reluctant to let go of. The upswing in Benzema’s productivity – which has been particularly notable and pleasing – may potentially put a halt to any midseason sale.
Edin Dzeko is the final name being strongly linked with a move to north London. The Manchester City striker has lost his place to Alvaro Negredo, who has struck up a fantastic rapport with Sergio Aguero – the Spanish language likely being the root of their success.
It’s hard to argue that Dzeko wouldn’t be a good buy for Arsenal. He offers more or less the same qualities as Giroud and knows how to find the net. The problem is he offers more or less the same qualities as Giroud. There’s continuity, but a lack of variance.
Benzema, on the other hand, is versatile. When Jose Mourinho deployed the devastating attacking triumvirate of Ronaldo, Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain, it was the Frenchman who took up position on the right side of attack.
Benzema turns 26 in December meaning he’s approaching his peak years as a forward. Despite his detractors, he’s a world-class centre-forward. If his time at Real Madrid can be interpreted or even sold as four-and-a-half seasons of struggle, it’s not too dissimilar to the problems faced by other Arsenal forwards in the past. No one was disputing the ability of those two forwards who had failed to make an impact in Italy.
If the opportunity presents itself, Benzema is the striker who best fits the style of play at the Emirates. Arsenal are armed with the means to take the Frenchman from Real Madrid, while the lack of complications of selling to a domestic rival should speed up the process.
One way or another, it shouldn’t be viewed as Arsenal settling for one of the last options. At his best, Benzema is one of Europe’s finest.
Is Benzema the right man for the job at Arsenal?
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