Whilst the speculation continues to grow over Van Persie’s future, we, as Arsenal fans, start to think of possible replacements if worse comes to worst.
I’ve heard most Arsenal fans go on about how they’d like to see Fernando Llorente, Edison Cavani or Falcao, replace Van Persie. I’ve heard others say that they’re content with Giroud and Podolski being the replacement(s).
Whilst interacting with many Arsenal fans I’ve come to understand that most of us would like to have Llorente at Arsenal, I can understand why. £15-20M would be the price tag on him and quite frankly I can’t see Wenger forking out that much on another striker.
Radamel Falcao is also an option, but earlier this week Atletico’s sporting director came out saying ”Falcao will remain at Atletico Madrid and any talk of an exit is misplaced”. “The striker will remain with us next season and we are not considering any other possibility.” So, we can pretty much forget about that transfer.
Edison Cavani is wanted by Chelsea & Manchester City, so I’ve heard. Those two would start an incredible bidding war over Cavani. I quite frankly can’t see it happening, sorry Gooners.
I think I’ve found the perfect player to replace Robin. Who, you ask yourselves? Demba Ba! Ba was a revelation when he moved to West Ham he played quite well from January onwards after joining in the January transfer window of 2011. Ba scored seven goals in twelve appearances for West Ham which made him their top scorer. Later that year, West Ham were relegated. Where was Ba headed off to? Would he give it a season in the Championship after joining from mid-table Bundesliga side Hoffenheim? Ba attracted attention from Newcastle and that’s where he ended up.
Demba Ba moved to Newcastle and little did they know they’d signed an absolute gem. Demba Ba made his Newcastle debut against Arsenal in August, he didn’t score that game but many goals awaited the Senegalese international. From August to January Ba was impeccable, his form was overshadowed by the form of our own Robin Van Persie. Ba’s first goal(s) came against Blackburn on September 24th, Ba scored a hat-trick. Many Newcastle fans were surprised at the start their club had made and most of the praise could go to Demba Ba. Ba scored his second hat-trick for the club against Stoke which stretched his goal tally to 8 league goals. He was flying in the premier league and when he left for the African Cup Of Nations in January, his league tally was 15 goals. A superb record which also saw him pick up December player of the month. His last goal before the African Cup Of Nations came against Manchester United, where Newcastle won 3-0.
So off went Ba to the African Cup Of Nations. An unsuccessful tournament for Senegal as they finished last in their group. But when Ba returned he witnessed the arrival of his fellow countryman Papiss Demba Cisse, who stole the spotlight from Demba Ba. Cisse went on an incredible run of scoring in ten consecutive games for Newcastle, whilst Ba was restricted to just one more goal. This wasn’t because Ba lost his goal-scoring touch, though. Ba was switched to different positions which saw him play on the left-wing for a few games and behind Cisse for others. Despite getting a couple of assists, this showed that Ba’s strongest point is spearheading an attack, like Van Persie.
Why Ba would be a great, yet realistic signing?
Demba Ba has shown that he can perform in the Premier League, good performances against any team from Manchester United to Stoke City. Arsenal fans hate playing Stoke, right? A cold night away at Stoke is a fixture we all dread, well, Ba scored a hat-trick at the Britannia. Newcastle have been looking to sign FC Twente’s promising Dutch forward Luuk De Jong which means they could be open to selling Demba Ba as I can’t see Cisse leaving after just joining. Demba Ba, believe it or not has a release clause of £7M which means that any club that meets this price can discuss a contract with him, should HE agree. £7M is an absolute bargain when you look at today’s market, especially for a player who’s been in such fantastic form in one of the best leagues in the world.
Very rarely do we sign players from the Premier League. Some of us thought that £10M for Arteta, from Everton, was a rip-off, yet look at the season he gave us. Demba Ba has shown that he can cut it in the Premier League. I’d rather we sign him then gamble on Llorente or Cavani. Wenger may even be content with Giroud and Podolski being the replacement(s), should Van Persie leave. We never know.
~GB1886 – If you enjoyed this be sure to follow me on Twitter @GB1886. I love interacting with football fans and debating.
