Former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn has approved the club’s pursuit of Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham but warned against selling Alexandre Lacazette.
Arsenal are set to make more waves in the transfer market and hope to secure some of their primary targets before the window shuts. The Gunners confirmed the capture of Ben White recently after already securing a backup midfielder and left-back earlier in the summer.
The North London side are also pursuing the signing of a forward and have eyes on several high profile targets such as Lautaro Martinez and Tammy Abraham. The interest in the Chelsea striker was picking up a few weeks ago, although the Gunners do not want to pay a £40 million fee and are instead suggesting an initial loan deal.
With a deal going cold in the last few days, Arsenal have switched their attention towards 23-year-old Inter Milan striker Martinez. The Argentine has a huge price tag on his head, and the Gunners are reportedly willing to conduct business. The Gunners could also explore the idea of including Hector Bellerin in a deal for the forward.
However, former Gunners’ defender believes Abraham could ‘Fit’the Bill’ at the Emirates and urged Arsenal to make a move. Nigel Winterburn, conversing with Goal.com, spoke highly of the Chelsea forward.
The Arsenal legend said, “Arsenal have been linked with Tammy Abraham from Chelsea. He certainly would fit the bill of recent Arsenal signings, young with a point to prove. People will question his consistency but what you want is for these young players to get a run in the team.”
“Is he going to get a run in a team if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is playing well? Probably not unless Aubameyang can be switched to the left-hand side – although you then need to leave out either Nicolas Pepe or Bukayo Saka.”
“With Abraham, there’s potential there and development for a young, young player. So, I think it’s an option that Arsenal, although with Alexandre Lacazette being linked with a move away, it could be just a name that has been thrown into a hat.”
Speaking of Lacazette, Arsenal reportedly needs to sell their existing forwards to free up the wage bill and make space in their squad before bringing in a new striker. The club are willing to listen to offers for the Frenchman and Eddie Nketiah, both having a year left on their deals.
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However, Winterburn warned the club not to sell Lacazette. “Arsenal shouldn’t sell Lacazette unless they’ve got an upgrade in place. I wouldn’t let him go until we have secured another striker. I’ve said that all along. Lacazette is a different striker to anything Arsenal have at the club. When he’s in top form, he holds the ball up well, his link-up play is good.”
“I suppose his strike rate is not the very, very best of what you want, but then we are not at the very, very top of the league either at the moment as well. So personally, at the moment, I don’t want to see him go unless we’ve got someone coming in that’s going to excite me. “I wouldn’t let him go, and then we haven’t got anybody else to bring in. For me, that’s just way too risky.”
Winterburn is right because Lacazette rarely has a bad game. His goalscoring rate is not ideal, but he makes up with his overall play, linking exceptionally to bring others into play. We will get a clearer picture of his future as Arsenal could make their final decisions over a new striker before the window closes.
