Arsenal: Alvaro Morata shows transfer chops rather than cherry picking

Arsenal’s interest in Alvaro Morata has been strong for years, but now they may be in a situation to flex their transfer muscle a bit to seal the deal.

So Arsenal probably need a striker. Olivier Giroud‘s lack of pace and Danny Welbeck‘s inability to be a consistent finisher have left the Gunners struggling to find someone to be the tip of the spear. While the attack is getting on well enough without one, the capabilities of the 3-4-3 would only be magnified if the right striker joined the fray.

There are options, and from the reports circulating around the rumor sphere, the Gunners aren’t settling. Karim Benzema is a settle. He has accomplished so much at Real Madrid, has never performed anywhere else and is past the point of needing to prove himself.

I fear that he would actually become what we accuse Mesut Ozil of being. Slow, complacent, a showboat. While Ozil has shown some fight in his past matches to counter that criticism, I can’t put aside the fears that Benzema simply wouldn’t.

Rather than cherry pick Real Madrid’s left-overs, Arsenal are supposedly back in the game to land Alvaro Morata, the striker pegged to take the reigns from Benzema when he moves on to wherever his next stop is (hopefully not the Emirates).

Morata will reportedly be offered first-team minutes and consistent playing time in North London, the same thing that Wenger is supposedly ready to offer Kylian Mbappe.

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There was a time when Morata was in a similar situation as Mbappe, widely regarded as one of the top young striking talents in the world. Since that time he has been buried at Juventus and Real Madrid and has struggled to find regular minutes. But in the process, he has never struggled to score goals using his solid combination of strength and athleticism

Take this year, for instance. Morata has only played 1300 minutes in La Liga, but he has scored 15 goals and added four assists. Now, granted, the same argument I use against Benzema can be used against Morata. He is scoring those goals surrounded by the best of the world in a soft La Liga.

But Arsenal’s attack is starting to hit its stride and with Alexis Sanchez and Ozil behind him, with Aaron Ramsey cutting in and Granit Xhaka pegging balls over the top, Morata might find that his fortunes are not so different at the Emirates. More physical, more competitive, and less push-overs, but certainly not such a massive step down as it may seem.

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A move like this would show some serious chops, as Arsenal would be getting the next big thing, not the has-been-a-big-thing. They’d pluck the ripest apple, not the one on the brink of being past due.

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