Reports of dubious merit link Arsenal with Mirko Vucinic

A rumour about Arsenal making a move for Mirko Vucinic--likely as a loan--has been popping around for a week or so, before the proposed swap deal of Vucinic for Freddy Guarin between Juventus and Inter seemed to completely kill it. Inter Milan, though, seemed to realise that they were being treated like a wide-eyed tourist in New York City, and pulled out of the deal, which has opened the door to the bottom-feeders of the Internet to report Arsenal are ready to SWOOP for TOP MARKSMAN Vucinic.

The reports, though, have wormed their way to the Independent, a paper which has some self-respect. Another report comes from TuttoMercatoWeb, who can be extremely hit or miss; in this case, they are quoting Sky Italy, which, being the home of Tancredi Palmeri, is another very hit or miss outlet. They report that Vucinic is on stand-by to join Arsenal, after his agent flew to London for talks, presumably with Arsenal.

On a loan deal, this is certainly not the worst move in the world. Vucinic was a starter for Juventus in the past two title-winning seasons, but has been forced out by a combination of Carlos Tevez, Fernando Llorente and injury. He scored 14 goals for Juventus last season and 10 the season before, and isn't a pure poacher: he links up well with other attacking players, is a decent dribbler and is versatile. On loan, he'd provide good backup for Olivier Giroud and Nicklas Bendtner, and perhaps is the best short-term deal Arsenal can do if other targets aren't available. If he were to be purchased, though, it'd be a waste--and with Juventus looking to sell, it seems a deal will only happen if they agree to loan him out. Even then, it might not happen--after all, Arsene Wenger did deny that they were interested in Vucinic, and the media outlets reporting Arsenal's interest aren't the strongest.