- Confirmed line-ups: Newcastle vs Arsenal – Gabriel & Timber start for Gunners
- Arsenal predicted line-up against Newcastle United
- Arsenal ‘interested’ in Bayern Munich star Leroy Sane
- Arsenal told to spend big to sign Brentford star Mbeumo
- Arsenal eye move to sign Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi
- Arsenal eye raid on Newcastle United to sign Alexander Isak
- Arsenal eye swoop to sign Brighton star Carlos Baleba
- Confirmed line-ups: Preston vs Arsenal – Nwaneri and Martinelli start
- Arsenal predicted line-up against Preston North End
- Arsenal eye swoop to sign Sporting star Viktor Gyokeres
Arsenal leading chase for £40m-rated Serie A hitman – report
According to the Telegraph, Arsenal are leading the race along with Manchester United to sign £40m-rated striker Alvaro Morata this summer.
Morata was strongly linked with a move to the Emirates when he left Real Madrid two years ago but we missed out as he opted for a switch to Juventus instead.
It appears Arsene Wenger is ready to renew his interest as the Mirror claimed last week that the boss had made Morata one of his prime targets as he looks to replace Danny Welbeck following the news he’s been ruled out for nine months with a knee injury.
Morata’s future in Turin is in serious doubt as the Telegraph claim that Madrid have decided to activate a £23.6m buyback clause that was inserted in to the deal when they sold him two years ago.
But instead of keeping hold of the Spanish striker, Madrid will instead sell him for £40m to turn a quick profit with the newspaper claiming that Arsenal and Man Utd are the two clubs leading the chase for his signature.
Chelsea and PSG are also named as other interested parties but the 23-year-old is understood to fancy a move to the Premier League with Arsenal said to be well positioned to secure a deal.
However, the Telegraph do indicate that Morata would favour a switch to Old Trafford IF Jose Mourinho replaces Louis van Gaal as manager this summer.
With Welbeck basically out for the whole of next season, we certainly need to sign a striker this summer and many would argue we actually need two. But is Morata worth the reported £40m transfer fee? My personal view is, no.
He’s a huge talent but for that sort of money I’d be expecting the finished article and someone who’s got far more of a goal threat than Morata. He’s only scored 7 goals in 33 league games this season and 26 in 91 since joining Juve. Hardly prolific is he?
READ: Arsenal linked with £63m bid for Real Madrid attacker
If Giroud had that sort of record he’d be hammered even more than he is already. For those wondering, Giroud’s record is 79 goals in 187 games for Arsenal.
For me, we should be looking at elite strikers like Benzema, Lewandowski or Aubameyang. If we want to be challenging for top honours, we need a truly world class striker and Morata doesn’t fit that category just yet.
One Comment