Arsenal: Antoine Griezmann Buy Out Should Be An Invitation

Arsenal’s key target man, Antoine Griezmann, has supposedly had his buy-out clause revealed. This should be an invitation, not a deterrent.

I really don’t know why I’m still talking about Antoine Griezmann. Perhaps there is still some piece of me that believes that Arsene Wenger is capable of absolutely anything. Not sure why I’d think that, but it’s not like Arsenal nation was expecting Mesut Ozil either.

Griezmann signed a new deal in June locking him in for a massive five more years at Atletico Madrid, where he will continue to strive to make the little brother of the capital more than just La Liga’s third wheel.

That five year deal is a major deterrent for all interested parties, as everyone has made it perfectly clear that Griezmann is happy where he is and that being the case, there is very little that Arsenal can do to dislodge him right now.

However, there is one thing they can do. The Sun is reporting that the Frenchman’s buy-out clause has risen to a massive £85.5m. Now, needless to say, that is a pretty hefty figure and one that is right underneath what Manchester United forked up for Paul Pogba. But as Gary Lineker (and others) have pointed out, you can put a price tag on goals and Griezmann has enough goals and a high enough ceiling to merit a steep price tag.

Plus, with the inflated market, it’s hard to argue anything anymore. Gonzalo Higuain fetched an £80m price. To think that Griezmann is only £5.5m more than Higuain makes it sound like a steal of epic proportions.

Whatever the case, Arsene Wenger can afford Griezmann, he has a starting price tag, the very least he can do, even if not expecting it to succeed, is make an offer for the Frenchman. Trigger his release clause and see where it goes from there. I do not advocate for spending that much money too often, but landing Griezmann opens up an entire world of possibilities.

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He would be a solution to just about everything at Arsenal. His combination play with Giroud is already well on display and I have talked ad infinitum about how well he plays in a team setting. He is not one of those egomaniac strikers that is only in it for the personal tallies. If that were the case, he would have left Atletico long ago.

Arsenal would become something completely and totally different with Griezmann. Flexing that kind of financial power alone would send shock waves around England and inform the world that Arsenal is done playing around. Everyone knows they have they financial ability but everyone also knows that Wenger is not one to use it.

Doing something unpredictable like offering a Pogba-like sum for a guaranteed product changes the game. It changes the team. it changes everything. Plus, we already know that Wenger is a fan of Griezmann, he tried to sign him from Real Sociedad. The only thing that has changed is a couple numbers in his price tag.

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Release clauses can definitely deter offers, but Wenger himself said that money is never an issue, so much as identifying the player. Few teams could afford to stump up that kind of money for Griezmann but Arsenal are one of them. Call me crazy, but I’m not convinced that we aren’t getting a striker just yet.

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