Arsenal and Chelsea can do better than Karim Benzema
There was a time, not to long ago, when Arsenal and Chelsea would have been fools to pass on signing Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. The same isn’t true today though. Both Premier League clubs should take a pass on the La Liga hit man.
Reports from Spain claim that Florentino Perez is desperate to offload Benzema sooner, rather than later. The French striker hasn’t played up to his usual standards this season. Still, the new comes as a bit of a surprise given how much playing time Zinedine Zidane gives Benzema on a regular basis.
The report specifically references Arsenal, Chelsea and PSG as potential destinations for the enigmatic forward. While I think the French giants would be wise to investigate signing Benzema, both English clubs should take a pass.
Previously, I’ve suggested clubs should be wary of signing Benzema due to his off the pitch issues. While those things still concern me, that’s actually not what I’m discussing here. Benzema’s play on the pitch is the reason I believe Arsenal and Chelsea should look elsewhere.
The simple truth is that Benzema just hasn’t been that good this year. He’s only managed five goals in 15 league appearances this season. Even more troubling, his Whoscored.com player ratinga average in La Liga play is a very pedestrian 6.87.
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Let’s be honest here, scoring goals at Real Madrid isn’t all that difficult for a reasonably talented centre forward. When you play regularly with the likes of Ronaldo and Bale, goals are going to come. A player of Benzema’s alleged talent should be a prolific goal scorer.
Instead, Benzema has gotten fat and happy with his role for Los Blancos. He still pops up with the occasional classy finish, but he doesn’t do much else for the club. At 29 years of age, his performance is likely to take a significant upturn at any point in the future. The player Benzema is today is largely what you can expect from him over the next several seasons. After that, his game is likely to decline substantially.
Neither Arsenal or Chelsea are desperate for strikers at the moment. The Gunners already have a similar player in the form of Olivier Giroud. He gets a lot of stick from Arsenal fans, but he and Benzema are fairly similar players at this point in time.
The Blues, on the other hand, are just looking for cover for Diego Costa. Aside from the obvious character concerns about putting Costa and Benzema in the same locker room, it doesn’t make sense for Antonio Conte on the pitch. The two men can’t play together, and acquiring Benzema as a backup would completely stunt the career growth of Michy Batshuayi.
Next: Arsenal making plans for life without Alexis Sanchez
Signing a big name like Karim Benzema would likely excite the fan base of either Arsenal or Chelsea, but both clubs should avoid the temptation. There are better, cheaper options out there on the transfer market.