One of the first transfer stories to break concerning Arsenal this summer was that we were planning on activating Carlos Vela’s £3million buy back clause. We need a striker or two to bolster our attack and sustain a title challenge next season, and when the story first broke, it seemed like a no brainer.
Vela has had a good season with Real Sociedad, scoring 16 goals and racking up 12 assists in the league. At £3million there wasn’t really anything to thing about.
Now however, there is something to think about, or rather, someone. Antoine Griezmann has quickly become hot property and a host of clubs are now reported to be interested in him. As well as us, it is rumoured that Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United and PSG are all interested in siging him. Speculation really intensified when Griezmann said that he would leave Sociedad for a ‘big European Club. The 23-year-old Frenchman, who plays mainly on the left wing, scored 16 league goals last season and assisted a further 3. He could assist a few more goals, but overall they are good numbers.
So, if you believe everything you read in the papers, it would seem that we have a choice. Do we simply activate Vela’s buy-back clause, sign him for a miniscule £3million and forget about Griezmann. Or, do we tempt Sociedad into letting us sign Griezmann, with the added incentive that we’ll wipe the buy-back clause in Vela’s contract. I vote we go for the latter. Griezmann certainly looks like the real deal. He has proven that he can score goals (albeit in France, but a goal is a goal and he seems to know where it is), he’s pacey and he’s young. We need another fast winger to play on the opposite wing to Theo and Griezmann would fit the bill perfectly.
Vela is a good player, he’s had a good season and he’s cheap. But, we should be looking to sign a top quality striker and Vela isn’t quite that.
He would do a good job as a third striker to complete our frontline, but would of course lose us the edge in trying to cut a deal for Griezmann and personally I think Remy would be a better option as an extra striker. We should definitely bargain with Sociedad using Vela’s buy-back clause. Griezmann would be a great capture for the club and would be a much more impactful and important signing than Carlos Vela.
Which would you rather? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Photo via Carlos RM