Arsenal booked a 17th successive season in the lucrative group stage of the Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Besiktas of Turkey in the play off last night. Alexis Sanchez got the the winner. The first leg finished in a goalless draw in Istanbul.
Arsenal is currently in turmoil after its only senior striker, Olivier Giroud, picked up a serious injury, but Falcao could provide them with a solution.
The Colombian international has been made available for loan by his club Monaco.
It’s claimed that the striker is keen on moving to the Emirates Stadium for the season, with a proposed switch to Real Madrid stalling, and all that remains is for Arsenal to agree to paying the loan fee.
Monaco wants £20million to rent Falcao out for campaign and while it is a high price, the fee does cover all of his wages and bonuses.
Arsenal is considering the options with an announcement on Giroud’s injury expected shortly.
Yesterday, Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger, said that the Gunners are braced for gloomy news as they awaits a specialist's verdict on the tibia injury that could leave Giroud facing a significant spell on the sidelines.
Giroud was ruled out of last night's UEFA Champions League qualifier against Besiktas with the shin problem sustained in Saturday's English Premier League draw with Everton.
"On Sunday he had a medical check and he needed to have further investigations," said Wenger.
"The first news wasn't fantastic, but I'm not a doctor so I wait for Wednesday (yesterday’s) complete examination and decision over how long he'll be out for. It can be (long term), we'll see. I don't know (if it's broken). It's sad for us, but for the moment we are focused on the game."
Wenger may be forced into the transfer market in search of a replacement if Giroud is missing for any length of time. The Frenchman, however, refuses to panic buy before the window closes on Monday next week.
"We have plenty of players at centre forward. In England as soon as you have a problem, people want you to buy," he said. "Unfortunately, I can give you some clubs that every time they lose a game they say they might need to buy more. I've learnt one thing in our job - you say nothing categorically."
Summer signing Sanchez had been in doubt if he could operate as the lone striker against Besiktas. Sanchez was replaced at half-time at Goodison following an ineffective 45 minutes as the focal point of Arsenal's attack, but Wenger is convinced he can operate as more than a winger.
"You do not convict a player on one half. It was not all bad what he did, there was some quality in what he did," Wenger said. "It was just that on the day we needed more physical presence. When you're 2-0 down you don't play counter attack."
Yaya Sanogo, Lukas Podolski and Joel Campbell are also options, although it is Sanogo, who missed out against Everton because of a hamstring injury, who is most likely to start. Wenger, who ruled out Podolski leaving in the transfer window, is confident he has the options to cover for Giroud's absence in the second leg of the qualifier at the Emirates Stadium.
"Yes of course, why should I not have that confidence?" Wenger said. "Nobody can imagine that when one player is missing, no matter how big the player is, the team can't win a game anymore."
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