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Karim Benzema to Arsenal Still On
By Josh Sippie
Among all the strikers that have been linked to Arsenal, whether it be Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Jackson Martinez or whoever else you want to throw in that mix, it’s always been Karim Benzema that I found the most appealing. He doesn’t have any off-field baggage, he doesn’t have a bad attitude and he isn’t an exact replica of Olivier Giroud.
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In short, Karim Benzema would be the perfect striker to enhance Arsenal’s chances of glory.
I had optimistically tabbed Karim Benzema as one of the top 5 big Arsenal transfer rumors to watch, but before that idea could even flesh out in our minds, Benzema’s agent Karim Djaziri has seemed to squash it like a little tiny bug. He told Marca, as reported by the Independent:
"“I haven’t met with any club in London. Not with United and not with anyone else. We haven’t held talks with anyone other than Real Madrid, What is Karim going to do in Manchester? He’s happy in Madrid. He doesn’t want to leave. Benzema would only leave if Real Madrid told him he was surplus to requirements, because he isn’t going to leave of his own accord. Karim wants to see out his contract. He wants to retire at Real Madrid.”"
Agents are really good at downplaying and making a lot of things seem like nothing. No one is denying whether or not Karim Benzema is happy in Madrid. We know he is. Who wouldn’t be? But the key takeaway from Djaziri’s comment is that Karim Benzema would only leave if Real Madrid told him he was a surplus to requirements.
Conveniently for Arsenal, Benzema is reportedly about to be told exactly that.
IBT is reporting that new Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez is going to hand the sole striker role to Cristanio Ronaldo. Few could argue with that decision, although I’ll bet Benzema would argue. Benitez is supposed to unveil a 4-3-2-1 formation that would “[break] Carlo Ancelotti’s famous BBC (Benzema, Bale, Cristiano) with Benzema the sacrifice.”
Along with the formation change, sources indicate that Real Madrid plan to follow through on their ability to buy back Alvaro Morata after he became a stone-cold striker at Juventus and drove his squad into the Champions League final. Bringing back Morata would put another striker in contention for a one-man role and Karim Benzema may find it more useful to get out while the gettin’s good.
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Another little tidbit that I found a bit on the humorous side from Djaziri’s comments is that he downplayed a move to Manchester United but never made mention of Arsenal. Maybe this is just pleasant thinking, but if Arsenal were to win over Karim Benzema from Manchester United like they won over Alexis Sanchez from Liverpool, we would have a lot of exuberant Gooners on our hands.
Karim Benzema is the perfect striker for the Arsenal system. I’ve already covered how well he would mesh with Olivier Giroud, who he already has a national-level partnership with and he wouldn’t destroy his countryman’s confidence either, as it’s been proven is quite easy to do.
It would be a friendly competition, not a cut-throat one. Karim Benzema is known for his intricate link-up play and ability to contribute to a team attack, not just in attaining his own numbers. That sort of thing would be absolutely perfect to fit into the Arsenal way. Not to mention the fact that Karim Benzema isn’t exactly flashy either. He is proficient and he gets the job done, but he isn’t a showboating, scorpion-kicker, and that fits in with Arsenal as well.
Maybe I’m just holding on to some bizarre optimism, but I don’t think that Djaziri’s comments rule out a move to Arsenal by any stretch.