Arsenal FC: Ricardo Alvarez Is the First Signing for Next Season

With the fantastic and breathtaking Premier League coming to an end for the season, Arsenal stands at the fourth position in the table under the leadership of manager Arsene Wenger. After making an eye-catching start and going on with a style at the midseason, Arsenal finally succumbed to pressure and lost out in the silver race.

Wenger promises to splash cash for Arsenal squad next season in an exception to his trend of low-budget signings. With captain Cesc Fabregas already again in the centre of "he-stays-he-leaves" drama, it seems like Samir Nasri is also on the verge of leaving Emirates this summer.

Though the news comes up everyday with a twist that whether Wenger wants to make stay Fabregas of let him go for a tag of $50 million, nothing has been confirmed about the status. As for the "contract rebel" Nasri (yes, that is what they call him now for not signing a contract), Wenger is trying to sort out a deal soon so that Nasri cannot leave for free at least.

It is obvious that Wenger will buy some players if he sells out some of his teammates, and reports claim that he has already made his first move in signing an attacking midfielder for the Gunners.

As per reports, Wenger has agreed to move for a pre-contract signing for Ricardo Alvarez, a 23-year-old attacking midfielder who currently plays for Argnetinian club Velez Sarsfield. Ricardo's contract runs out in June with his club, so Wenger can land him for free.

Th Argentinian plays as a second striker as well as an attacking midfielder for Velez. However, stats show that he scored a mere two goals in 46 matches from that position.

The 6'2" Alvarez played only 46 matches during his spell of three years at Velez, which is due to the fact that he was injured. Reports fail to identify a solid reason as to why Wenger is going for this under-average player from an unusual recruiting location.

On the positive side, reports claim that Alvarez has plenty of pace to bust attacks into the box and can run across the midfield to play at different attacking positions. He is also know for his powerful shots from range which can (sometimes) score a goal or two.

Arsene Wenger surely looks to make his attacking options stronger with this signing, but will this gamble be a good one for the Gunners? Wenger should definitely look forward to spending good cash in summer now to add some amount of satisfaction to the Gunners.