Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov [Reuters] Reuters

Former Arsenal winger Perry Groves has urged Arsene Wenger to sign Dimitar Berbatov from Fulham in January.

The former Manchester United striker has over six months left on his contract at Craven Cottage. The 32-year-old has been a transfer target for Arsenal while their north London neighbours Tottenham Hotspur were also believed to be interested in his services, according to ESPN.

The Gunners have Olivier Giroud and Nicklas Bendtner as the first choice strikers. However, the Dane has spent most part of his time on the bench, leaving Wenger to field the French international in most of Arsenal's games this season.

Groves claims top teams would be unwilling to let their star players leave in the mid-season transfer window and Wenger should bring Berbatov to the Emirates in January as a strike partner for Giroud.

"The top teams aren't going to let their best players go and you want quality to go in. You could probably get him [Berbatov] for a million or £2m for the last six months of his contract," Groves told talkSPORT.

"He is in a team that's struggling because he won't close full-backs down, he won't go in the channels. But I think, he thinks he's too good for Fulham. Sometimes his body language is, 'what am I doing here? They can't even feed me the ball'."

The former Arsenal winger believes Berbatov's addition will be beneficial for the Gunners as he would be available for £2m in January. Should Wenger manage to sign the former United striker, it will give the Frenchman more options to lead his side's strike force.

"If he goes to Arsenal he's not going to think he's better technically than the Arsenal players, he'll think, 'oh I've got players on my level'. Basically it's a no brainer. If you got a year-and-a-half out of him, which I think you can, then he will be a brilliant option if you want to rest Giroud. He wouldn't alter the team pattern at all," he added.

Meanwhile, the Bulgarian striker's agent Emil Dantchev earlier confirmed that Berbatov is looking for a move away from Fulham in January.

"I don't usually speculate as nobody knows what will happen in January but what I can tell you is he [Berbatov] is not happy at Fulham. He would like, if possible, to find another option," Dantchev explained.