Christian Benteke would make Arsenal true Premier League title contender

Arsenal needs to buy a striker.

Along with the FA Cup final staring Arsenal in the face on Saturday, the Gunners should be aware of the fear-inducing glare of Aston Villa’s powerful striker Christian Benteke. In scouting for Saturday’s game at Wembley Stadium, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and his coaching staff should have immediately recognized that Benteke ticks all the boxes for Arsenal before starting the 2015-16 Premier League campaign.

[FA Cup final: Arsenal vs. Aston Villa – Get live play-by-play and match stats]

Theo Walcott scored a hat trick in the Gunners' Premier League finale – fair enough. However, Benteke is a safer bet than Walcott in the No. 9 position and that means no disrespect to Walcott’s pace or skill.

In recent years, Arsenal has opened up the wallet, and this present squad is not at all far away from winning the league. So this is not the time to tighten up and be patient. The general consensus around Arsenal and the Emirates is that the Gunners need to buy a striker that possesses Premier League pedigree, acts as a beast in the box and finishes consistently in front of goal.

Benteke is that forward.

Since his arrival in the Premier League, Benteke has never failed to contribute at least 10 goals in a domestic league campaign. At his best, the powerful forward thundered in 19 goals in his debut Premiership season. However, injuries and the polluted politics under former Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert temporarily dulled Benteke's razor-sharp scoring skills.

After Lambert finally got the boot in February and Benteke looked fully fit, the Belgian resumed scoring with ferocity and regularity. Under manager Tim Sherwood, the 24-year-old found form and rescued Villa from the damnation of relegation. From the start of March through the final day of the Premier League season, Benteke scored 12 times in 12 games – including a vital goal in Villa’s 2-1 FA Cup semifinal victory over Liverpool.

Benteke can help Arsenal win the league.

As a reminder, Aston Villa was not an overpowering club that maintained possession and created chances with consistency. This was a team battling at the bottomand Benteke’s quality helped save the Villans from the drop. Scoring 12 goals in 12 games would be impressive for any club over any stretch of the season, but Benteke did it when it counted most. He returned to form late in a season with his team torpedoing to the bottom and a new manager introduced in a last ditch act of desperation. Even with Benteke's scoring heroics, Aston Villa only edged out relegated Hull City by three points.

Benteke was worth more than three points, and life would be awfully different for Aston Villa and Sherwood if he had not turned up when he did. A manager hoping for a change of luck is Brendan Rodgers, who has been linked with a Liverpool bid offering about $45 million for Benteke. Manchester United has also been loosely linked, but both clubs should make their intentions known following Saturday’s final.

After the FA Cup final, Arsenal should submit a bid on Benteke.

If the Gunners truly want to compete for a league title, they cannot sit on their wallets and watch from the bleachers. If they want to advance in the Champions League and finish better than third or fourth in the Premier League, they need to outbid the Manchester clubs, Liverpool and, yes, even Chelsea. A big, strong striker that has provided enough evidence to warrant a big-money transfer fee deserves a big bid from a big club.

If Arsenal believes it is a big club, making a habit of taking players away from Liverpool would be a great place to start. A great place to finish would be with Benteke stoically showing off the Premier League trophy to the Emirates in 12 months’ time.

Shahan Ahmed is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. He has previously written about the 2014 World Cup and 2013 Confederations Cup and regularly provides opinions on the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and Spanish La Liga. Follow Shahan on Twitter: @ShahanLA and @perfectpass