Arsenal have been put on red alert as Barcelona consider letting Antoine Griezmann go this summer, according to Mirror Sport, and Mikel Arteta would be making a major statement by signing the forward.
David Ornstein told The Athletic back in October that Arsenal narrowly missed out on signing the Frenchman, then of Atletico Madrid, back in 2017 after they failed to secure Champions League qualification.
Griezmann joined Barcelona last summer after the club activated his €120million buy-out clause, but after an underwhelming season for the Catalan club, Barcelona chiefs are said to be considering letting him go.
With Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United interested, Barcelona ill want to make back much of their initial investment, however, if no club is willing to pay such a large fee, then they will consider a loan move, similar to Philippe Coutinho’s Bayern Munich move.
Should Arsenal find themselves in that situation, they should absolutely pursue a loan move for the forward as a priority move this summer.
With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang potentially on the move once the transfer window reopens, the Gunners might need to source a replacement, and few elite strikers will be made available for transfer at the end of the current campaign.
Should Griezmann be allowed to leave, he would be an ideal replacement for Auba, although the price tag could be a sticking point, with Arsenal needing to spend elsewhere on their squad and not waste their entire budget on one deal.
However, on a temporary move, the club could hardly do better than the versatile France international, who Transfermarkt rate at £108million.
Griezmann scored 21 goals for Atletico last season, and while he hasn’t impressed for Barcelona for most of the current campaign, he has still managed to score on 14 occasions this season.
Whether he would be able to perform in the Premier League is difficult to estimate, but his signing would certainly be seen as a major statement of intent from Arsenal, who will be looking to break back into the top four under Mikel Arteta.
