Arsenal had a top striker on deadline day but flinched at €50m valuation

Thierry Henry, Martin Keown and just about every Arsenal fan felt the club should have bought at least one outfield player during the transfer window.

The Gunners will return from the international break with as much strikers as Manchester United, which is hardly any. Olivier Giroud will be asked to carry the goalscoring load, with Joel Campbell and Theo Walcott filling in at the manager's pleasure. Arsene Wenger said, earlier in the summer, that he would only strengthen his squad if there were players of true quality available. Arsenal reportedly inquired about Real Madrid's Karim Benzema but would not pay £48m for the Frenchman. After a less than rollicking start to the season, the club put the feelers out for a man that could find the net with regularity. The Mirror claim that Arsenal were told they could have PSG's Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani for €50m. Cavani has scored 36 goals in 67 games with the French club and, prior to that, bagged 78 goals in 104 Napoli games. Arsenal's problem with the deal was two-fold: Cavani is 28-years-old and he would have very little sell-on value once his contract expired. Wenger spoke about the current transfer market, and Manchester United's capture of Anthony Martial, on beIn Sport. He commented, 'What happened last night with Monaco, who sold Martial to Manchester United for €80m, I’ve heard. 'Martial scored 11 goals in the French championship - that sums it up well. 'That means it’s not the money that’s missing at the moment, it’s not the desire of investment that is missing, it’s the number of players available who can strengthen the big clubs.'