Arsenal are looking to buy a potent striker in the summer transfer window - there is no doubt about that.
The likes of Gonzalo Higuain, David Villa, Wayne Rooney and Stevan Jovetic have been heavily linked, while the possibility of making a run for Robert Lewandowski also opened up after Borussia Dortmund categorically said they would not sell their striker to Bayern Munich.
Among the above mentioned strikers, the two most intriguing ones and two of the most ideal players in an Arsenal team would be Higuain and Lewandowski - Rooney really is extremely unlikely considering Manchester United would never be ready to sell one of their best players to a rival, even if Arsenal sold Robin Van Persie to United last summer.
Higuain is a deadly striker in front of goal, even if he has been criticized at times for missing too many chances.
Last season, while Olivier Giroud did exceedingly well, he did miss a hatful of chances, and had a bulk of those opportunities been presented to Higuain, Arsenal would have scored a lot more goals, which could have in turn changed the course of their season.
The Real Madrid striker has expressed his intention to leave Real in the summer, and reports have suggested Arsene Wenger has already met with Higuain and his father, who is also his representative, in a bid to tempt the striker to move to join Arsenal.
Juventus is the main competition for Arsenal and the Italian champions do seem determined to prise Higuain away.
One aspect is in favor of Arsenal, though, and it is not something that has been associated with the club in the past - financial power.
Wenger has plenty of money to spend and can easily offer bigger wages than Juventus - whether the Arsenal manager will decide to do that or not is an entirely different matter.
The other potential big signing is Lewandowski, who is also at a similar age to Higuain. Lewandowski has been widely expected to move to Bayern Munich this summer, with the striker reportedly agreeing personal terms with the Bundesliga and Champions League winners.
However, Dortmund, having already lost Mario Gotze to Bayern, are determined not to sell another big-time player to their title rivals.
That leaves Lewandowski with two options. Play out the final year of his contract with Dortmund and move on a free transfer to Bayern in the summer of 2014 or look at the option of moving to a club outside the Bundesliga.
Manchester United are the side which has been linked the most with a move, other than Bayern and David Moyes will surely be interested if the opportunity arises, while the likes of Chelsea, Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid will also consider a move.
Dortmund are willing to sell for a fee of around £25 million ($39 million) - a similar price tag to Higuain -- and Arsenal certainly have the funds to match that amount.
If Wenger wants to turn Arsenal into title contenders, rather than just a side scrapping for a top-four place, then this is the sort of statement that he needs to make. Go out, talk to Lewandowski's representatives, wax lyrical about the club and convince the Polish international to join the "new-age" Gunners.
Higuain and Lewandowski are dream options for Gooners out there, but with Arsenal ready to loosen their pursestrings this summer, signing one of the two could indeed become a reality; in fact making it a reality will be the difference between winning a trophy next season or making it nine years without silverware.
