Arsenal linked with free agent striker Ciprian Marica

The transfer window may have slammed shut last week, but that hasn’t stopped Arsenal from being linked with a move for a Romanian striker that is currently a free agent.

Ciprian Marica last played for Schalke, but left the German club in the summer after his contract expired earlier this summer. Marica may be a free agent, but he is still getting in the Romanian national team and was even on the scoresheet in a World Cup qualifier against Hungary on Friday.

Arsenal signed two players on free transfers this summer, with Yaya Sanogo and Mathieu Flamini signing after their deals at Auxerre and AC Milan expired, before Arsene Wenger splashed the cash to bring Mesut Ozil in for £42.5m from Real Madrid on deadline day as well as signing Emiliano Viviano on a season-long loan deal from Palermo.

The Gunners also tried to bring in Chelsea striker Demba Ba on a season-long loan deal, but once Arsenal signed Ozil from Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho wasn’t willing to loan Ba out to a team he considered a title rival. Having managed Ozil at Real Madrid, that does tell you a lot about how highly rated he was by Mourinho that the signing of Ozil makes him believe that Arsenal can compete for the title now.

Marica has been a free agent for a while, his status as a free agent means that he can still join clubs, despite the fact that the transfer window is shut. Inter Milan, Lazio and Shakhtar Donetsk have all shown an interest in the Romanian, as well as Premier League side West Ham United.

Reports in Romania suggest that Arsene Wenger is keen to sign Marica. The deal would make sense if it was a one-year deal. It would give him a year to prove himself at the club and come in if he really is needed. At the moment, Arsenal are an Olivier Giroud injury away from potentially starting the inexperienced Yaya Sanogo up front or even the out of favour Nicklas Bendtner.

Ciprian Marica is being linked with a move to Arsenal on a free transfer. Picture: FC Schalke 04.