Petit addresses elephant in room amid Arsenal's Karim Benzema transfer interest
Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit has warned his former side to steer clear of Karim Benzema despite their recent striking struggles.
The Gunners have seen their title charge suffer a serious blip after two successive league defeats against West Ham and Fulham respectively, before being eliminated from the FA Cup on their own patch against Liverpool. Throughout all three of those contests, Mikel Arteta's men have been guilty of some wasteful finishing in front of goal that has gone on to cost them.
As a result, fans have grown louder in their calls for the club to sign a new striker, despite forking out £45million to land Gabriel Jesus' signature at the start of last season. The Brazilian's technical quality can't be questioned, but he lacks a ruthless streak that the Gunners require if they are to win the biggest honours.
Someone who certainly falls into that bracket is Benzema, who is believed to be growing unhappy with his current situation in Saudi Arabia and angling for an exit. The former Real Madrid superstar now lines up for Al-Ittihad as captain but is rumoured to want a new challenge.
Many have linked the desires of both Benzema and Arsenal to suggest the two parties could link up, with some suggesting the ex-France international could be just what Arteta's men need to end their 20-year wait for a Premier League title.
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However, Petit has strongly advised Arsenal to avoid the transfer. The 1998 World Cup winner told Compare.bet: "What’s the price for Benzema? Do you have any idea how much Benzema will be earning in Saudi? I don’t think any English club will be able to offer him the same amount of money.
"It’s Benzema’s choice if he comes back but after winning everything with Real Madrid and being 34 years old, I don’t think he will want to come to the Premier League, it’s so physical, it’s so mentally hard, it’s not La Liga, with all the respect for him, he played for probably the biggest club in the world with great success, but it’s not the Premier League. I’m not confident Arsenal should go to Benzema, they should go for someone else."
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Arsenal have been told to avoid signing Karim Benzema amid uncertainty over his future at Al-Ittihad (Getty Images)Petit went on to echo the sentiment of many others when asked who the Gunners should try and target to end their attacking woes. He identified Brentford talisman Ivan Toney as the striker who can transform Arsenal but did concede that for the price the Bees want, it may be worth weighing up other options.
Toney has had a £100m price tag slapped on him, which is incredibly unlikely to be met by the Gunners mid-season. Arteta himself has conceded it seems improbable that a new star attacker will join during the January transfer window.
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