3. Mario Mandzukic – formerly of Bayern Munich, now of Atletico Madrid
Ever since his move to Bayern Munich from Wolfsburg in 2012, Mario Mandzukic has established himself as one of the best and most prolific strikers in world football. Having displaced Mario Gomez from the Bayern starting line-up in his first season, Mandzukic went on to score a hatful of goals, and became a key figure of the Bayern Munich set-up. With the arrival of Pep Guardiola to the club last season, it became clear that Mandzukic’s style of football was not suited to Guardiola’s tika-taka, and, whilst Mandzukic continued to score goals, Guardiola set his sights on a new centre-forward. Robert Lewandowski was brought in on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund, and as such Mandzukic was sold to Atletico Madrid, for a modest fee of less than £20m.
Arsenal were strongly linked with the Croatian striker, and many Arsenal fans were angry at Arsene Wenger for not having even tried to sign Mandzukic, particularly when he had openly voiced his desire to leave Bayern in the summer. Whilst Arsenal have since gone on to sign Danny Welbeck, who may well become a fantastic signing for the Club, securing Mandzukic earlier on in the season would have meant that Arsenal did not have to desperately look for a new striker just weeks into the new season. Mandzukic may well also have played instead of Yaya Sanogo against Leicester City in the Premier League, and as such Arsenal may even be two points better-off already.
Mandzukic is 28 years old, but does not base his game around pace, so his advanced age would not be a problem. In fact, it could be said that the Croat is in the prime of his career, and at such a reasonable price, is an absolute steal for La Liga champions Atletico Madrid. He provides bags of experience, and also fits the ‘target man’ description, similar to the likes of Olivier Giroud and Yaya Sanogo. It is clear that Mandzukic has more quality than both of these two, so it is strange that Arsene Wenger decided not to try to bring in an experienced, proven goalscorer, who would improve on his current options.
By Lucas Jones (Twitter: @LucasJones4)