TheSportsCampus

Manchester City’s in-form striker Edin Dzeko has become Arsene Wenger’s top priority according to stories in the British press after the Bosnian put in a superb performance after coming off the bench to score the winner for Man City against Tottenham on Sunday. Meanwhile, Arsenal’s interest in Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha has also reportedly been given another boost after the 20 year-old received a surprise call-up to the English national side for their upcoming friendly against Sweden.

Arsenal are believed to be flush with funds after they sold their star striker Robin van Persie to Manchester United over the summer. However, the reality is that Wenger did a perfect job of balancing his books, matching his expenditure on bringing in Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud with the money he received from the sale of Van Persie and Alex Song.

Wenger though is believed to have a transfer war chest at his disposal should he wish to use it, and sections of the press seem to be keen on pushing the Dzeko to Arsenal story full hog. Dzeko has started this season in stellar form, leading Manchester City’s goalscorers with 6 goals so far. The striker has surprisingly earned this feat, despite coming on as a substitute in 6 of his 9 appearances this season.

The one issue for the Gunners though will be the player's current wages, which are rumoured to be in excess of the combined wages of any two members in the Arsenal first team squad. With the Gunners unrelenting on their wage structure one finds it hard to believe this will change to accomodate Dzeko into the Arsenal squad, and as a result this one will in all likelihood remain just a rumour.

On the other hand, Crystal Palace are absolutely unwilling to part with their young playmaking wizard and the club have already placed a £20 million price tag on Zaha. Wenger is keen on strengthening his attacking unit and the Frenchman could spend upto £15 million to bring in the young midfielder in January, claimed the Daily Mail.

While Wenger does have a thing for young talent, he seldom pays over the top for a player, and with the Manager reportedly keen on moving Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain into a central role over the coming years, it is hard to see where he will fit Zaha in, even if he does decide to shell out a massive sum.

Arsenal though continue to be linked with a high-spending January transfer window as they struggle to even break into the top four this season. A crucial 6 weeks await Arsenal before the transfer window opens, and chances are Arsene will look to see how close his current crop of players can take him towards the top four before he looks to splash any cash in the winter.