Today I will be writing a scout report on Arsenal target Antoine Griezmann, currently plying his trade in Spain for Real Sociedad. Griezmann is being strongly linked with a move to North London this summer and with the performances he’s put in for Sociedad this season, it makes sense.
Griezmann is a 23 year old left winger who plays as part of the front three for Sociedad. Antoine has shone this season despite a somewhat disappointing season from the club who find themselves in 6th place but having qualified for the Champions League by finishing 4th last season, would have been hoping to build on that success by qualifying again this season. In 47 games, he has racked up 20 goals and 5 assists in all competitions which is a truly extraordinary stat from playing on the wing.
Having seen him play for Sociedad many times this season, its clear to see that he possesses an array of talent and has certainly merited the hype around him. Like many wingers, his pace and direct style of play are his key attributes but with his goalscoring exploits, makes him an in demand player for many teams throughout Europe. Just last month, he was rewarded with his first cap for the French National team and will surely be in with a good chance of making their squad for this summers World Cup.
When being seriously linked a player, you have got to look at the players currently at the club who play in the same position. This season, a number of players for Arsenal have played in that wide left role, Podolski, Cazorla and even Wilshere have all occupied that position at some point during the season with Podolski currently occupying that position of late because of his fine performances and has even notched up 5 goals in his last 5 games. The strange thing with Podolski is that Wenger doesn’t seem to fancy him as much as he should, having only completed the full 90 minutes a number of times since moving to Arsenal. Perhaps this is down to Lukas usually occupying the centre forward role throughout his fine career and is not quite used to the tracking back and work rate that left wingers are used too. You cannot argue with his goal return this season having scored 12 goals in 24 games, having missed a large portion of the season due to injury. Both Cazorla and Wilshere have played in that position as mentioned but don’t have the same effect as they would from their natural position in the centre of midfield.
If Arsenal are to improve for next season, more pace is needed in the final third of the field. With Walcott being hugely missed since getting injured playing against Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the season, the lack of pace has been evident. If Arsenal were to sign Griezmann this summer, it would add a whole new dimension to our game and having seen Liverpool tear teams apart this season with their pace on the break, would be an improvement on some of the sluggish and labored displays we have seen this season.
A player quite similar to Antoine is Julien Draxler, a player being linked to all the big spenders throughout Europe. The reason I mention him is that he has been continually linked with a move to Arsenal, especially in January last where a deal to sign him seemed inevitable but never quite concluded. Would I rather Julien over Antoine? Personally Antoine is my top priority for the wide left role, mainly due to fact he gets a number of goals and with the possibility of Arsene not buying a striker this season, goals from midfield will be more important than ever. Also, Draxler has had a season where he has been in the treatment room for much of it, and being an Arsenal fan, we all know too well that signing an injury prone player is not what we need.
At just 23, Griezmann is just 2 years younger than Walcott and could well be team mates next season with Wenger sure to be a fan of his fellow countryman Antoine. Price wise, were looking at a fee of around 18 million pounds prior to the World Cup, but we all know that any player that performs well on the main stage in Brazil can double their price tag so to do your business early is key!
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Would you like to see Griezmann signed? Comment below | Photo via Carlos RM