Arsenal Transfer Target: Loïc Rémy

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Over the course of the summer, we’ll be tracking the most realistic potential signings for Arsenal and publishing our profiles and assessment of each footballer.

Amidst all the clamour of the transfer window sliding open, Arsenal fans are quite rightly looking toward the striker position first. While there are needs to be addressed at the back following the likely departure of the reliable Bacary Sagna and club captain Thomas Vermaelen, it’s the position up front that will earn the most discussion this summer.

Olivier Giroud fired 22 goals for Arsenal throughout the course of the campaign, notching 16 of those in the Premier League. While his tally is an improvement on his stats from last year, the general consensus is that Arsenal requires a world-class player in that position.

Because of that widely held opinion, Loïc Rémy’s name doesn’t make a great deal of sense when it’s mentioned in conjunction with a summer move to Arsenal. Rémy scored 14 goals in 26 appearances in the league while on loan for Newcastle this season. A side-by-side comparison of him and Giroud shows remarkably similar statistics.

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On the surface, a move for Rémy looks to prove a like-for-like solution with Olivier Giroud. The difference, however, is less in goalscoring statistics and more in their athletic ability. Where Giroud is powerful, Rémy is fast. He continuously displays the type of pace that will allow him to get on the end of the type of ball Mesut Özil will provide. The 27-year old Frenchman could be the smooth jazz to Olivier Giroud’s big band.

He’s even had experience – as recent as this season- in playing a similar scheme to Arsenal’s 4-2-3-1. In the first half of the season when the former Marseille man did the most damage, he had Yohan Cabaye operating behind him. The prospect of trading the quality of Cabaye for Mesut Özil is one that would draw any striker’s eye. Given Arsène Wenger’s historical reluctance to part with large sums of money, (previous summer’s extravagances notwithstanding) Rémy begins to look to be an addition that is functional, though not altogether exciting.

However…

There is one instance in which the Rémy signing could be positively electrifying. And there’s a real chance of it happening. What if, instead of acting as an option to compete with Giroud, Rémy formed the second half of an all-French strikeforce? Wenger has shown a willingness to shift to a 4-4-2 in the later stages of games. We saw it work to great effect in the FA Cup final against Hull City when a hardworking, albeit vastly in-over-his-head, Yaya Sanogo exhausted the defenders with his constant energy. Rémy is faster than Sanogo and a better, more experienced finisher, which would give this formation serious legitimacy.

Giroud shouldn’t come off the pitch in favour of another striker. His work as a fulcrum for the midfielders is exhausting to watch and responsible for fashioning good chances. His hold-up play is his best technical attribute. Wenger doesn’t need to replace him. He needs to supplement his physicality with pace and technique. Should Arsène Wenger look to a dual-striker scheme, be it 4-4-2 or 4-3-1-2, the Loïc Rémy transfer suddenly becomes one worth salivating over.

The final point here (but one of the first things on Wenger’s mind) is Rémy’s price. Back in January, QPR boss Harry Redknapp mentioned a number in the £16-million range. There’s a real possibility that the number will jump in the coming days given QPR’s ascension to the Premier Leauge after the 1-0 win over Derby. If that puts him in the £20-million range, it may be more than Wenger is willing to spend for a player of Rémy’s quality.

Should his price tag receive a bump in the coming days, it seems unlikely that he’ll be in red-and-white for the next campaign. A more experienced top-flight player of higher quality such as Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema may be worth the extra money.

Now it’s your chance!

Should Loïc Rémy be an Arsenal player next season? And if not, who do you want to see don the crest in August?

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