Arsenal news: Mikel Arteta Gunners suffers striker setback as top-four hopes take a serious blow
Alavaro Morata is said to have given Arsenal a’sharp no’ after the Gunners stepped up their pursuit of the former Chelsea striker.
The need for a new striker is obvious at Arsenal, with Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah due to leave the club at the end of the season, following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Gunners attempted and failed to sign a forward in January, allowing Aubamayng to leave for Barcelona after a difficult final few months in north London.
Arsenal were connected with the likes of Dusan Vlahovic and Alexander Isak, while rumors on deadline day stated they made a late bid for Spain international Alvaro Morata, which was rejected by the player himself.
The 29-year-old is presently on loan at Juventus from Atletico Madrid, where he signed a two-year agreement in 2020.
According to Il Corriere dello Sport via Football Italia, the Gunners are willing to spend roughly £25 million for Morata, who struggled in the Premier League with London rivals Chelsea between 2017 and 2020.
And, according to La Stampa, he has no plans to return to English football, as reported by Sport Witness.
Top-four hopes take a serious blow
Ian Wright is skeptical that Arsenal can reclaim fourth place from fierce North London rivals Tottenham.
Mikel Arteta’s team had long seemed like odds-on favourites to clinch Champions League football until a recent capitulation saw them lose to both Crystal Palace and Brighton, surrendering their fourth-placed status to Tottenham.
Their neighbors have been in excellent form recently, with Antonio Conte’s men winning four of their past four games.
As a result, the Gunners have moved up to fifth place, level on points with Spurs and with a game in hand.
However, while it may not seem like a bad situation to be in, Arsenal’s forthcoming schedule will put Arteta’s men to the test.
The Spaniard’s immediate attention will be on Saturday’s trip to Southampton, but games at Chelsea and West Ham await, with a home game against Manchester United sandwiched in between. All of this comes before a massive match at Spurs in mid-May.
Many have predicted that the North London Derby will determine who wins the coveted fourth spot, but Wright believes Arsenal are out of the running for Champions League qualifying.
The Arsenal icon said on the Arsenal-focused Arseblog podcast: “We are not creating as many chances as we should, we are the lowest goal scorers in the top five.
“We need goals man, there’s no way – when we lose Tomiyasu, Thomas Partey, Kieran Tierney – there’s no we can stay in that top four with the players that we have got at the moment without them three in it.
“They are three of the mainstays in our team and when you are not scoring as well, it’s frustrating watching them.”
Wright went on to say that he has already moved on from the prospect of his previous team finishing fourth and is now concerned that the last two results signal the start of a larger collapse.
“I can’t stop thinking about what we are going to do, I don’t want us to slip away,” Wright added.
“I’m not bothered about fourth because I knew our team – we haven’t got the goals in it and we haven’t got the experience in it.
“I’m feeling top-six, I don’t want us to start dropping and dropping back out into eights as that can have a detrimental effect on such a young squad.
“Have we got enough firepower to take us there (top four)? It looks like we haven’t at the moment.”6
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Arsenal news: Mikel Arteta Gunners suffers striker setback as top-four hopes take a serious blow
