Arsenal’s apparent interest in Juventus striker Fernando Llorente has picked up real pace over the last week or so. The Spaniard is set to join the Gunners in a move believed to be in the region of £9 million. Although that fee isn’t immediately alarming for a former Spain international and Juventus striker, but the use of the word ‘former’ should be enough to already show signs that the move could be more of a miss than a hit.

At 30, Llorente is surely on the downside of his career and that loss of pace could really affect him in the Premier League. On top of that, the striker has no previous Premier League experience, something which has troubled many ex-PL forwards who struggle to adapt to the pace at such a late age. Perhaps not the most brilliant example of this could be Falcao, who upon his time at Manchester United looked in the wilderness in the Premier League with the sheer fitness and pace levels required.

Llorente is a proven goalscorer, that’s something that is impossible to deny. However, is he a goalscorer that will win Arsenal their first Premier League title in over 10 years? His records suggest not!

During his time at Atletic Bilbao, the 30-year-old scored 85 goals in 262 appearances, averaging around 15 goals in the league per season. He certainly never hit the 20+ goal a season milestone that many expect a league winner to have in their ranks. To the strikers credit though, he is generally quite prolific in European competitions, scoring 16 goals in 35 appearances for Bilbao.

For Juventus, the striker scored an impressive 18 goals in his debut season. Last season though, just half that amount in the same amount of games (45), was not deemed good enough, and now the striker is in search of a new club.

Arsenal’s attacking line is impressive. Giroud knows how to find the net, Welbeck has the legs and the age to become one of the best in the country, and the duo of Walcott and Sanchez can also play a striking role with competence. This is not to mention the youngsters Arsenal have in their ranks that look certain to push for a first team move soon enough.

My impression with Arsenal’s search for a striker is that they should either go big or go home. Benzema, Cavani and Lacazette are strikers that would make a difference to the side. But if they were to make a move for 30-year-old Llorente, it would certainly put question marks over why Wenger let Podolski go, a striker who knew how to find the net and was at a similar age to Llorente.