Arsenal given Roberto Firmino transfer instruction as Chelsea seek striker solution

Arsenal's pursuit of extra firepower for the second half of the Premier League season could be aided by a familiar face, should Mikel Arteta decide to take advantage of a couple of potential Saudi wantaways. The Gunners are currently fourth in the table five points behind league leaders Liverpool and in need of a few more goals having scored the fewest of the current top-five sides so far this season.

Chelsea are in a similar boat, albeit further down the table, and despite owner Todd Boehly spending over 1bn on transfers since his arrival they appear to still be on the hunt for a forward who can bump them up the table. On Monday the Blues were linked with possible loan moves for former Liverpool legend Roberto Firmino and ex-Real Madrid star Karim Benzema. Both players are currently plying their trade in the Saudi Pro League but neither appear to be enjoying the ride.

Firmino left Liverpool at the end of last season when his contract expired in search of a new challenge after a decorated stint at Anfield, but despite scoring a hat-trick on his debut for Al-Alhi, he hasn't scored once in 18 matches since. The Brazilian is on a big-money contract in the Middle East but could be tempted back to Premier League on a loan deal for the second half of the season. However, if Arteta wants to add some short-term artillery to his Arsenal squad before going after a more permanent target in the summer, Firmino is probably not the man to provide it.

Although he was a key element of Liverpool's lethal trio of strikers under Jurgen Klopp alongside Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, it was the African pair who took the lion's share of responsibility for racking up the goals whilst Firmino acted as the link man. Arteta already has a Brazilian who is capable of playing that role in the form of Gabriel Jesus and is advised to look elsewhere.

A better option could be taking a closer look at the situation of Benzema, who has already appeared to have fallen out with his Saudi team Al-Ittihad. According to the Mail, the Frenchman has been left out of the team's mid-season training camp in Dubai after failing to return to club duty on time, with his representatives claiming that he has been unable to leave Mauritius - where he was on holiday - due to a tropical storm.

Although there could be worse places to be stranded, Al-Ittihad boss Marcelo Gallardo may have already had enough of the former Ballon d'Or winner and if he is prepared to sanction a January loan deal there will be no shortage of suitors in the Premier League. Benzema's prolific scoring record during his 14 years at Real Madrid plus the 15 goals he has scored in 24 appearances for Al-Ittihad this season provides exactly the type of goal return Arteta is looking for to keep Arsenal's title aspirations alive.

Whether the Spanish manager would be prepared to work with the often volatile striker could be another matter however, Arteta's decision to ditch ex-Gunners captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang two years ago proved that he is only prepared to work with players that he considers to be positive influences on his squad.