Alessio Cerci is being lined up by Arsene Wenger to cope with the loss of striker Olivier Giroud who is rumoured to be out until 2015. The Italian centre forward, who can also play on the right, enjoyed a successful time at Torino last season with 13 goals and 11 assists.

Cerci thrived last season in the second striker position, just behind main striker Ciro Immobile, with Torino also implementing a false 9 formation to accommodate him when Immobile was out. If Cerci were to join Arsenal however, this false 9 formation could cause a problem with the likes of Mesut Ozil who would be wasted in a more wide position to force such a formation. Cerci’s situation is similar to that of Robin Van Persie who started out as a wide player and Arsene Wenger converted him so successfully into a top centre forward.

Cerci is the type of player who runs all day, he will chase down a lost cause and get in behind defenders on the run, something that current strikers Giroud and Sanogo do not offer to the team. While Giroud does well to hold up the ball and back in to defenders, Cerci would give Premier League defences something different to think about, he offers pace and positional skills that Arsenal have been missing since the likes of Eduardo, someone who will chase through balls rather than receive them into feet. With Cerci’s flexibility, he can also cover on the right when Giroud is back fit, or if Arsene goes for a more physical presence up front in Sanogo.

While some fans are shouting out for Alexis Sanchez to be played up top, he showed at Everton last weekend that he lacks the physique to be up top in the Premier League and is more suited to the wing, while Cerci, at 5 ft 11 in, is more in the mould of a classic centre forward.

If Cerci does indeed end up at Arsenal then that could see the end of Lukas Podolski’s career at the Gunners, with limited first team opportunities already, Cerci’s arrival would push him further down the pecking order.

Cerci has played his whole career in Italy, playing for the likes of Roma, Fiorentina, and now Torino, scoring an impressive 43 goals in Serie A, mainly from the right wing. He has also been capped 13 times by Italy, with one substitute appearance at this year’s World Cup against Uruguay, but has yet to score.

Cerci would bring a new dynamic to Arsenal, or rather a dynamic that has been missing from the team for some time now.