Arsene Wenger has in actual fact had a top transfer target this summer. The Arsenal manager has been involved in trying to bring French superstar Antoine Griezmann to Arsenal all summer.
A report by Squawka has recently revealed that Arsenal have and continue to be engaged in trying to bring Griezmann to Arsenal from La Liga giants Atletico Madrid, who is rated at a staggering £60m. Well, that does not come of as a surprise, for the Frenchman, rated by many experts to have been the best player at Euro 16, scored 6 goals in tournament. He signed for Atletico Madrid in 2014, and has scored 57 goals in a 107 games in all competitions for the Madrid based club, 44 of which came in the domestic league, out of 75 games.
The report by Squawka claims that Wenger, had hoped ti prise Griezmann to the Emirates, but the Frenchman signed a new professional contract at Atletico Madrid raising his buyout clause to a balking £86.2m.
Needless to say, a deal for the Frenchman would have been (and still might be, fingers crossed!) contingent completely on other transfers that happen between clubs. Mesut Ozil came to Arsenal in the aftermath of the Gareth Bale transfer to Real Madrid. Yes, Atletico Madrid have signed French striker Kevin Gamiero, who is agreeably not the same league as his French compatriot. Earlier in the transfer window, Diego Simeone’s side was interested in bringing back Diego Costa to the club. Costa moving to Atletico would have increased the chances of Romelu Lukaku moving back to Stamford Bridge.
However, the Chelsea man has committed his future to his current club and this obviously hampers the chances of any club who is interested in Griezmann. Additionally, it now seems like all three players will stay where they are.
The idea of a player like Griezmann playing alongisde Olivier Giroud is one that has been welcomed by several Arsenal legends and pundits. Theirry Henry too has claimed that even if Arsenal are not able to sign a top class striker, it may be a good idea to play Alexis Sanchez upfront with Giroud, in what would look like a class 4-4-2 or a 4-1-3-2 formation.
Regardless, if Wenger’s pursuit of Griezmann has been a real reason for other potential deals stalling, it can be said that Arsene Wenger should have assessed the market a little better. One can only hope at this point that a new signing does arrive at the Emirates.
