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Could Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata be worth his £57million asking price to Arsenal?
Arsenal fans have been growing increasingly frustrated at their club’s lack of activity in recent weeks, especially when it comes to strikers. They have seen Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Michy Batshuayi arrive at two of their rivals, while Vincent Janssen is expected to join Tottenham in the coming days. The most pressing need for the North London club is a top tier striker, which they have lacked for a number of years.
Olivier Giroud is very good, but is too inconsistent to be considered world class. If Arsenal are serious in challenging for both the Premier League and the Champions League, they need to spend big on a world class forward. There are not too many options around, with Alvaro Morata being heavily linked in recent days.
are reporting that Arsenal are ready to offer the Spaniard £144,000 per week to convince him to come to England. He has just been bought back from Juventus by Real Madrid, as they activated their buyback clause of £23 million. The Champions League winners have a frontline of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, and Morata would be unlikely to break into that. Many feel they activated the clause to make a quick profit to fund their own transfer dealings this summer. If that is the case, a move to the Premier League is logical, with Arsenal having the most pressing need for a striker at present.
At the age of 23, Morata has a lot of time to develop and in all truth, he is already a quality striker. The Spaniard struggled to hold down a first-team place at Juventus and will be keen to gain regular football this season. The time for him to play a back-up role has reached its end, and he needs to become an important player at club level.
For this reason alone, Arsenal look to be a great fit for both player and club. For Morata, he would get regular first-team football and would be playing in a side that has an array of creative midfielders. Meanwhile, he suits Arsenal, as he works hard, holds up the ball and is used to playing in a side that dominates possession at international level.
In terms of his style of play, Morata is tenacious and borders on aggressive at times, as he chases balls and puts defenders under pressure. At 6 ft 4, he is effective in the air and is powerful, which allows him to hold the ball up well and bring midfielders into the game. This is what Arsene Wenger looks for in his forwards and he could learn a lot from Giroud, who carries out this role well.
Morata has more to his game than the Frenchman, as he is a strong dribbler and capable of creating space for himself in the final third. He moves a lot more freely than Giroud as well, and his passing play is accomplished, as you would expect from a Spanish international.
Morata is far from the finished article though, and needs to start playing regularly to progress further. His finishing is good, but he can be inconsistent in front of goal, and needs to improve his final product even more if he is to be considered one of the best strikers in the world.
He remains 23, and would benefit from this move, as he would be an important player in a side filled with world class talent. The likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Özil would help him immensely, and that would be one of the reasons Morata comes to the Emirates Stadium.
This deal is far from straightforward, as Arsene Wenger would need to be convinced that Morata can quickly develop into a world class striker. The Arsenal manager likes Olivier Giroud; who has looked good at Euro 2016, but he will recognise that his compatriot will never reach the top bracket of strikers in the world.
Morata is not quite at that level yet, but he has the potential to be as good as the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Gonzalo Higuain. There are other options available to Wenger such as Romulu Lukaku and Alexandre Lacazette. However, Morata will be easier to buy, as Real Madrid will be more willing sellers.
Wenger is approaching the end of his managerial career and will want to finish with a flourish in the form of some
major success. This transfer may be a risk with the fees involved, but it is a gamble that is worth taking.
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