Former Arsenal defender Paul Merson believes that the club would be better off signing Atletico Madrid superstar Antoine Griezmann in the summer. He has urged manager Arsene Wenger to compete with Manchester United for the signing of the 25-year-old. United are believed to be the favourites to sign the player, who may cost in excess of £85.5 million. The Red Devils are ready to activate a release clause in the player’s contract in order to bypass any negotiations with Atletico Madrid. Such a transfer would break Arsenal’s transfer record, which currently stands at £42.5 million paid for Mesut Ozil, by more than double.
Speaking to the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, Merson said:
“They pay top dollar those Arsenal fans. When you’re paying that kind of money you have to be watching world class footballers at the club. You can’t just have two – you should have five and six in my opinion.
“With Griezmann, people go ‘they’ve [Arsenal] got that kind of player’. They haven’t. They’ve got two of them [Sanchez and Ozil], but you could do with another one. For me there isn’t a club in the world that wouldn’t want Griezmann.”
The entry of Arsenal is unlikely to change anything for United, who will still be favourites to sign the player given that they possess Paul Pogba. The friendship between Pogba and Griezmann has been well-documented, and it is believed to be one of the main reasons behind Griezmann highly considering a move to Old Trafford. The 25-year-old has spoken several times about playing alongside Pogba much more than just at the national team level.
A signing of Griezmann’s stature would be extremely important for Arsenal, as they aim to keep Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil at the club. Both players are out of contract in less than 18 months. Incredibly, United have been linked with a move for Ozil and it would reunite the German midfielder with manager Jose Mourinho. The pair worked with each other at Real Madrid in a highly successful combination.
After having just sold Morgan Schneiderlin to Everton and Memphis Depay to Lyon, United would consider strengthening the squad with the addition of a few midfielders. World Cup winning star Bastian Schweinsteiger has not played for the club in the league and he is expected to leave in the summer. Bringing in Ozil would replace Schweinsteiger with another World Cup winning player.
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech recently spoke about Arsenal having to show a lot of ambition in order to keep players like Sanchez and Ozil. There can be no better sign of ambition than by splashing out a club record transfer fee on a forward rated as one of the best in Europe.
Griezmann, though, will not just consider a move to United just on the basis of his friendship with Paul Pogba. He will get much more first-team opportunities at Old Trafford, as he is being viewed as the eventual replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. At Arsenal, the French striker will have to compete with comprehend his international teammate Olivier Giroud, who has recently signed a new long-term contract and has been in the great goal scoring form.
