No argument - go around.
I failed to make a finals call on a controlled RAF airfield when under training years ago - though totally clear of traffic, the go-around call from the tower made the point that no landing without clearance should be attempted...
...especially since the Army co-used the airfield and frequently crossed the active in a jeep without clearance!
Think - emergency developing, and controller is otherwise occupied sorting it out. He expects you to go-around without clearance, but may not have had time to tell you. Who would look a prat if they ploughed into something they had not seen then...? Alternatively, who would care for the few extra tonnes of fuel burned if you went around and established contact...?
Easy answer.
Only an idiot would attempt a landing without clearance at a controlled airfield: tower controllers don't always sit in the same room as approach and ground controllers remember!