Arsenal sizing up Swiss striker to take pressure off Giroud

Josip Drmic won’t be a name to strike a chord with many Arsenal fans, but it could well be one that Gooners become much more familiar with next season, if rumours of a summer move for the Swiss star bear fruit.

Still only 21, Drmic is one of the Bundesliga’s rising stars, having bagged 15 times for struggling Nurnberg in 26 appearances.

For a player of the Swiss international’s tender years such a prolific return in one of Europe’s top leagues has not gone unnoticed, especially as Nurnberg are a team who have spent the majority of the season flirting with relegation.

Arsene Wenger is among Drmic’s greatest admirers and given the Gunners critic-appeasing slide out of Premier League title contention in recent matches, the need for reinforcements has never felt more pressing.

A 2-2 draw at home to Swansea, following a heavy defeat at Chelsea has left Arsenal clinging to the FA Cup as their only hope of ending their eight-year trophy drought, where they find themselves as the 4/9 favourites.

However, even if the Londoners finally get their hands on some long-awaited silverware, the fact remains that another striker is required to bear some of the burden heaped on top scorer Olivier Giroud.

If Arsenal are to sustain a title challenge to the wire next season, this is an essential component.

Although they have Yaya Sanogo as back-up currently, the young Frenchman is another target man in the mould of Giroud, while Drmic is a nimble centre-forward who has the pace to get in behind the opposition.

Drmic would definitely provide that kind of pacey option which Arsenal have been lacking in their centre-forward department, but whether or not the fans will be happy to see anyone other than a reputedly world class striker arrive remains to be seen.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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