Arsenal Definitely need a new striker… but why is everyone convinced it has to be Alvaro Morata?
I’m going to come out with it straight away; I think Alvaro Morata is overrated! Especially with the supposed numbers that are being talked about to bring him to the Emirates. I understand that ‘he is one for the future’ and the kid has a very impressive CV to date, that would convince anyone that he is destined for great things. My problem now lies with the cost; for years now we have been moaning about the board not allocating money to Wenger, which the last time i wrote on this website dispelled as a lie; he justified spending £16 Million on Calum Chambers; which with the greatest of respect, I’m yet to see him pay of 50% of that value. The fact that he cost more than pretty much established internationals under the pretence that he is one for the future, shows me that Wenger has a lot more power than you make him out to have; For god sake Virgil Van Dyk cost 3 million less and is only 3 years older.
Anyway moving away from that issue before I have an aneurism; Granted that we have never spent more than £20 million on a center forward, and in this day and age that is the bare minimum required for a top class center forward. If reports are to believed in Italy, Juventus though are completely unwilling to let him go, will take around £24 Million from Real Madrid. Now could someone justify spending even £24 Million on this guy? Cause I sure as hell can’t. We need an established center forward, not someone who has the eventual potential to become good. If we bring in another striker, it has to be someone who from day one is a threat to Olivier Giroud’s stranglehold on the center forward position; I’m tired of this notion that we have to bring someone to support him. He has influenced every major transfer decision in our attacking line up for the last 5 years. Just in case you think I’m talking rubbish, take a minute to consider the forwards we signed in the last 5 years. To the best of my knowledge I don’t recall an ‘out and out’ center forward being signed; yeah there is Sanogo, but the less said the better. The point being we’ve been hell bent on signing individuals who fit around Giroud. When a guy has 16 Assists mid-season and sets a new Premier league record with a 116 Chances create, how do you justify going 14 games not scoring; it’s equally as stupid as finishing 3rd in a 2 horse race. He doesn’t need any more support – he needs to be replaced.
Back to my original point the signing of Morata is a clear indication that somehow there is still faith in Giroud, because let’s be honest he won’t replace him in his first season; he would most likely be his back up or play along the wing or as an inside forward, where he is frequently used for Juventus. And I know people keep saying that the goals can come from elsewhere; but let me stop that in the tracks right now. As we saw last season consistency in terms of goal scoring is not always guaranteed, especially if you’re not a natural goal scorer, so this over reliance that someone will come good, when Giroud eventually loses form, needs to stop. I’d much rather our situation with the strikers be like it is with our midfield, Since the signing of Xhaka, none of our center midfielders or defensive midfielders can for certain say that they’d be guaranteed a place in the starting line up (I’m referring to the likes of Ramsey, Elneny, Coquelin, Wilshere) perhaps Cazorla, but given his age now it would still be questionable.
There is no question that we need another striker, but does anybody think Morata is that guy? I don’t and especially at the supposed value, considering there are a plethora of strikers we could afford, who are far better within the £24-35 Million price range..
Eddie D
There’s gotta be someone better than Morata………
LOOK AGAIN!
I’ll gladly eat my words if this transfer does come true, but I just do not see Wenger spending upwards of 50 million on Morata. What in his history as a manager would make anyone believe that would be the case?
When Wenger buys big, (or buys at all, really) it is because he sees a deal. Alexis, Cech, Ozil, Santi Cazorla… all pretty good deals when you consider the cost of quality these days. Morata at 50 million just does not fit the trend.
I believe this is a classic Wenger transfer misdirection. Let the media frenzy over Morata to Arsenal while he does a cheaper deal elsewhere.
Striker, striker, striker. Where are the wingers? Where is the speed to get behind defenders? Campbell, Iwobi, Ox, Walcott. Will they show up next season? I don think so. Morata is ok. We need better.
Iwobi yes, Campbell Yes , but Walcott????
Far as Im concerned Id give TW away for nothing he’s lost his bottle and as much as I hate to admit it Alan Hansen was right at least five years ago he just does not have a natural footballing brain and we need to offload this freeloader as soon as possible
Morata is young and he has trained with CR and if you analyse his body, his physic, his movement with and without the ball, plus touch and techniques nearly to Ronaldo.
For me he is one hundred miles better than the man who his main strength is to shoot or head the ball, can’t run with it or even go around the defender. I hate the OG lovers for sure.
Giroud is excellent when he’s on the good side of his inconsistency. His overall stats proves that. However, it’s not enough. I welcome morata, but I don’t have high expectations from him
If we do get morata, let’s at least give him a chance to prove his worth! Remember thierry henry wasn’t an instant success!
Right! A lot of people against his signing and what if we “DO” sign him? Are fans going to stop supporting the club or the players on the pitch? If he comes just give him a chance, they’re others currently on our roster that’s had years of chances yet still flatter to deceive…
@JAmerican
I think or fans would get behind Morata or at least, I hope they would, but it would pile even more pressure on Wenger, as Morata would be a huge gamble. I’d feel bad for Morata as well, because we need a goal scorer now, which means the fans could get on his back if doesn’t start scoring consistently and straight away.
Honestly, i dn’t really mind……. Morata or any other…….. But frankly speaking, he isn’t my 1st choice on the cards
Thank you for this article Eddie D, because I was going to write more or less the same thing, and I enjoyed reading this.
I feel this Morata connection is more media driven than anything, they’ve put two and two together, and come up with 13! What’s surprising is that some Arsenal fans have fallen for it. Morata has a very poor scoring record, and we’ve already got plenty of forwards at Arsenal that don’t score enough. Do we really want another Welbeck or Giroud on our hands!
To not have a top quality striker at a so called big club for four years, is probably unheard of! This has to be addressed NOW! No more versatile forwards, no more average strikers, no more potential, we need a natural goal scorer with a proven track record. If we have to £50/60/70 million, then so be it – Arsenal can definitely afford it!
Giroud lovers, have that piece of hot cake
Hartson told the Daily Star : “There needs to be a
change up front at Arsenal.
“I know Giroud has got 20-plus goals but you just
wouldn’t put him in the top category with the
Lewandowskis, the Agueros, the Ronaldos and the
Gareth Bales.
“He’s probably in that next group down from the
elite. He’s in the B list, he’s not A list.
“He does delivery at times, he can get the goals but
if Arsene Wenger had another striker similar to
Giroud, the other guy would start all day long.
We are all for getting a real #1 striker but……
Your mind-blowing evidence that Giroud stinks is a Hartson quote?? That is it??
I trust YOUR opinion and the opinions of other great fans more than a silly quote. Opinions and quotes in the media are so common they are worthless.
Giroud HAD the potential when we brought him in but he’s faltered at every step. 20 plus goals yes but he bottles and misses and looses form in all of the crucial events he has had enough time to prove his worth and he just is NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
Wenger has allegedly already stated that OG will lead the line next season so all this talk of Morata will really as far as Im concerned amount to nowt.
trouble is we gont have the money or the ability to sign the Lewandowskis, the Agueros, the Ronaldos of this world and we certainly dont have the kudos anymore to even consider luring them to the emirates so Morata would most likely be the best we could get for our money, Dont see it happening though.
What really rankles me is arsenal fans banging on about Lukaku, really ????? he’s Olivier Giroud in disguise
E. Heskey is available on a free Transfer
Will be one of the best signing we ever had, Heskey is very good in holding up the ball.
This is what we need right now, him and OG will take arsenal to champions league trophy next season.
We seriously need a striker.theres no way we will win the league with a guy who goes 14 games dry.I feel like moratas price value is excessively high.with the same amount we can get romelu.I just hope we don’t get benzema .interesting to see who we will get or if we will get a striker at all.
Why not Benzema
He’s a proven striker and in accordance with the argument in tis article he has a better goalscoring record and is better than Morata.
There is a reason why RM dont want to sell Bemzema.
We have a board and manager that depite having Champaign money have only got a taste for beer so your wish most likely will come true and we wont be in for Benzema.
Or for that matter Morata.
Lukaku can sling his hook as far as I can see he’s no betetr than Giroud and would be an utter waste of money
Total goals to REAL MADRdird 11 in the 4 year he is there!!!! 12 GOALS THIS YEAR!! NO THANKS CASE CLOSE!!!!
Morata has 12 goals in FORTY-NINE appearances – less than 1 goal every 4 games.
I don’t know if he will become a good striker but thus far he is NOT.
can we do better than morata? Definitely, I honestly don’t mind who is our main CF as long as it’s not Giroud, Walcott or welbeck
you are 100% spot on. there are other established strikers lik Higuain,Zlatan(free), Aubameyang, Lewandowski..
no offense to to Xhaka signing but he is more of a want than a need, same with signing Ozil when we had santi, Cech when we had ospina….. if the 30m used to get him is combined with d 38m we are rumoured to be about to spend on Morata to get a Lewandowski it ll make more sense.
we can also get Morata as replacement for Welbck and still get a Zlatan for free. Pay Zlatan outrageous wage, at least we ain’t paying any1 to get him and he ll come.
I know he likes Mourinho but if u consider it properly that is d only lure of United, Arsenal have the lure of London, UCL, and playing around players alrdy at their best. not some kids lik martial,rashford,darmian or old hags like Rooney,schweini,carrick.
if we add the MONEY (wage) advantage we ll get him.
Zlatan has gone to Man united
we were never in for him he and Wenger just dont mix well
I’ve no doubt that Wenger will sign someone to compete with Giroud but agree that it won’t be someone who easily supplants him.
But what do I know? I’m still betting on Theo having a massive bounce back now that he’ll be at the end of passes from Granit “Pirlo” Xhako, Santi and Mesut “He Sees Things No One Sees” Ozil.
Morata is young and he has trained with CR and if you analyse his body, his physic, his movement with and without the ball, plus touch and techniques nearly to Ronaldo.
For me he is one hundred miles better than the man who his main strength is to shoot or head the ball, can’t run with it or even go around the defender. I hate the OG lovers for sure.
Unfortunately, reality is not optional in football. I don’t who these “Giroud Lovers” are but Giroud has a much better goal-scoring record than Morata – facts are facts.
What does this mean? It means Arsenal still need a #1 striker but Morata is not it.
All the hype about Morata does not even made sense. He has a weak goal production history. So…… where’s the beef?
I don’t get it. Why is he so promoted as a great striker? So far, he is NOT.
I would tend to agree that Morata represents a risk, maybe even a large risk. It should be remembered that the price for players has gone up and is going up daily. WIth the money that the EPL clubs are getting from the new TV contracts known to everyone, the cost of player acquisition is going up. So while £24-35 Million is a lot to pay for Morato, the other names that have been banded about are £50-70 Million with also no guarantees. Successful clubs take risks all of the time. Man United spent 200 million and it didn’t even get them to Champions league, now they are talking about spending another 200 million this offseason. So the question that I would asks is how to you minimize the risk while still taking steps to address the biggest need that this club has, which is a top goal scorer? I think that Arsenal, has the resources to take a risk to try to win the league next season and go out and get the players that can do that even if it costs big money. I believe Arsenal can afford to spend £100 million this transfer period. So if not Morato, then who, and if not now, when?
While we can afford to spend 100 million this transfer season we most certainly wont, its a case now that both the clubs Kudos and the attraction power has long since gone, players are reluctant to come to us as every year our lack of ambition has become more and more apparent
Zlatan would have been the best option available (as much as I dislike him) but him and Wenger are like Oil and water Benzema is proven and despite his facked up personnel life would have been a great acquisition but we all know Wenger is reluctant to pay the money asked, Lukaku is in my humble opinion crap and is no better than Giroud and everybody else is either far too pricey or would nt consider us due to the ambition thing.
We still think we are big club but in comparison to the other “big clubs” we are the smallest in regards to reputation and ambition and thats always an attraction factor for any player.
Yes Morata is young and ‘played’ at high caliber clubs but he is so OVERRATED! He had one amazing dribble vs Bayern and that is basically it. There is a reason he was 3rd choice striker. Even his YouTube highlights are extremely mediocre, at best. His finishing, vision, weak foot, and control are all weak. The only category he is an upgrade on Giroud for is pace, HE’S ALL HYPE
I won’t say Morata isn’t a good player,,but what confuses me is tat why would Real Madrid wana sell him so badly if he has such GREAT potential…certainly they have more capacity to hold such high potential players than us
That’s what happen when people are desperate for something, on a normal day to our standard we can Only settle for WC striker after the likes of Henry and RVP, but now any decent ST is welcome, as long as he’s not Giroud.
Griezman …l with Sanchez on other side ozil,behind …I think we could stuff anyone in middle and get goals
All this £51 million bid talk, is aload of rubbish,
Theres no way that Wenger will pay that for an unproven Striker, Especially when he only offered 40 + £1 for Suarez.
I even doubt that Morata is Wenger’s real target,
Lets just wait and see.
It’s either gonna be Lacazette, a Dutch striker or a winger that was never linked with us
Yep, who no bugger has ever heard of and who costs tuppence happenny
so, buy CR la, what ever cost…..
I’d much prefer taking a chance on Janssen than Morata.
Why????? Janssen is even less proven than Morata !!!
Why on earth would YOU have a problem with Morata’s cost???? before Morata went to Juve almost everyone was trumpeting to the stars that he would be a top notch striker, since being at the urin club he has been second fiddle for the best part of two seasons due to team rotation and various other elements comming into play this doesnt mean he’s not a top notch striker, what it means is that he has yet to gel with a team that really works the way that suits him, as far as the price tag goes we are NEVER gonna get Suarez or Ronaldo or even Aqerro BUT Morata could be a real aquisition IF he pulls his finger out, Remember Tierry Henry ???
who would have brought him in back in the day when he was failing ?? and look how he turned out!!!!!
The money shouldnt be an issue for you after all its Now not your money and any forward signing has to be better than what we currently have 9Apart from the abysmal Lukaku that everyone seems to think will save us)
I don’t think Morata is brought in so he can play with Giroud at any time. I think he is coming in because he can replace what Giroud does. Morata is one of those strikers that midfielders play off, he can assist, he can hold onto ball, most importantly his game is about providing just as much as it is scoring. He is quicker than Giroud, but he is not one of those players who try to break offside trap by being on shoulders. He is a type of Giroud, he has his differences, but Arsene wants a team player. This is why we see so many chances go begging, we try to walk or get as close to goal as possible. Morata will aid our walking. I hope I’m wrong and Arsene sees the something in Morata that Juve cant see, like he done with Henry and Vieira. Henry and Vieira were very underrated in Italy, but it was like Arsene knew something which Italians didn’t.
how ironic,wenger offered 40,1mls for suarez and he is going to spend 50 on morata,am i missing something??