Arsenal are in the market for a marquee striker signing this January. However, should they not find the right player for the role, the Gunners would be willing to turn their heads to Fulham’s Raul Jimenez, who has loads of Premier League experience under his belt. The Mexican turns 34 in the summer and his contract with the Cottagers has an option to extend by a year.
Despite steadily heading towards the final days of his playing career, Jimenez has maintained decent productivity in the league. This season, he has scored eight and assisted two goals in 23 appearances. Overall, he has made 182 appearances in the competition for Wolves and Fulham, scoring 55 goals and assisting 20. However, he still looks very fit and could have a decent six months to offer Arsenal.
It has been reported that Fulham would accept as low as £7m for Jimenez in January, but would still be slightly reluctant to let their striker leave mid-season. Mikel Arteta and his Gunners have so far stayed away from making moves for veteran players, and making an exception in this case would probably only be in the worst-case scenario.
What would Raul Jimenez bring to Arsenal?
Standing at just over six feet tall, the Mexican striker is a handful in and around the penalty area. While he has lost a considerable amount of pace after his head injury, Jimenez still possesses the smarts in the box that have made him a quality striker. He can finish with both feet, combines well with teammates and has a knack for being in the right position to poach goals.
Despite age seemingly catching up with him, Raul Jimenez still has a decent engine. He has started 18 of 23 of Fulham’s Premier League matches this season and played more than 70 minutes of a game 15 times. He has also remained injury-free for most of the last couple of seasons and will look to maintain his clean record now.
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A move to Arsenal so late in his career will undoubtedly turn the player’s head, but things have to move quickly for this deal to gather any sort of pace with just three days left in the January window.
