Villa demonstrates what Arsenal are missing and what Liverpool crave

The hottest rumour doing the post-January transfer window rounds is that David Villa will become a Liverpool player in the summer.

There could hardly be a signing that would excite Liverpool fans more.

Villa and Fernando Torres’s relationship at Euro 2008 showed what a potentially mouth-watering pairing they could be if together at club level. Villa won the golden boot and Torres won the tournament for Spain even while his team-mate was injured. It was a vintage tournament for the pair, whether side-by-side or alone.

Liverpool’s lack of striking options is no secret. Having sold the £20m gamble Robbie Keane back to Tottenham after just six months, Rafa Benitez is left with the constantly misfiring Dirk Kuyt, the untried David N’gog and the unsettled and outgoing Ryan Babel.

But he’s also left with Torres. Yet if the sparkling Spaniard falls injured – as he has done already this season – Liverpool suffer greatly.

He and Steven Gerrard are Liverpool’s sole attacking talents and also their leading goalscorers. There is not enough depth and although Benitez’s side are still within sight of Manchester United at the Premier League summit, it is clear Liverpool need more strength up front.

Villa is the ultimate solution. His smart goal for Spain in the routine victory over England on Wednesday highlighted just how much of a predator the striker is. He took the ball on from a central pass and dazzled Phil Jagielka before slotting into the corner with ruthless efficiency.

Liverpool can have El Guaje on their books with a bid of the same size as Tottenham received for their star man last summer. The problem is whether the Liverpool owners will be in a giving mood come the end of the season, having already witnessed an £8m loss on Keane. The amount of success this campaign will ascertain whether Benitez has his monetary demands met for the next.

The bidding war for Villa is likely to intensify as he enters his prime years and with Valencia resigned to losing their most influential player if the price is right. Their financial woes mean he has forever been on the market but no club has yet matched Los Che’s valuation.

The Asturian is improving with every season, and thus far, 2008-9 has been one of his best. He already has 17 goals in just 21 Valencia matches, along with four assists, and his international goal against England meant he became the first Spanish international to have scored in six consecutive games. Is there a more clinical striker on the globe at this instant?

Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid have all been linked over the last 12 months, but Liverpool could be in pole position to persuade Villa towards an Anfield transfer. There is the Torres factor – the pair are good friends, the existing Spanish contingent, and Villa’s burning ambition to play in England. Liverpool can currently say they are the second best club in the country, and Manchester United are not interested in sabotaging their move for the 27-year-old.

Arsenal have already lost their chance, it seems. Last year, Cesc Fabregas heavily insinuated that he would love to see Villa in the same team and the ex-Real Zaragoza forward intimated that the feeling was mutual. The Arsenal fans signalled their desire to see the striker at the Emirates – but reacted furiously when Arsene Wenger passed up the opportunity to sign him. Age was considered an important factor, but Wenger’s recent capture of 27-year-old Andrei Arshavin suggests that he played his cards badly over Villa.

Fantastic pace, an omnipresent awareness for goal, and sensational finishing make Villa this summer’s MVP. Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka are off the market so Villa may end up bringing in the most money across the entire peninsula.

Whether it is Liverpool who win the race for the sizzling Spaniard is another matter entirely, however. But their future title ambitions rely on finding a second striker who can take the burden off Gerrard and Torres in the goalscoring department, and there are few better on the market than David Villa.