Speaking on the Here We Go podcast, Fabrizio Romano revealed how much Tammy Abraham was wanted by Arsenal this summer.
The Gunners have experienced a disastrous start to their Premier League season, sitting bottom of the league having lost all three games and are still yet to score their first goal, which will make it even more agonising for fans that they missed out on Abraham this summer.
Would you have liked to see Arsenal sign Abraham?
Yes
No
Arsenal were linked with a move for the former Chelsea striker before he eventually linked up with Jose Mourinho in Rome for £34m, and according to Romano, the reason they didn’t land Abraham was because of their inability to sell one of Eddie Nketiah or Alexandre Lacazette.
Romano spoke about Arsenal’s desire to sign Abraham from Chelsea during the transfer window.
“Many clubs in England were asking for him, but Arsenal were really pushing to have Tammy Abraham. They were trying to convince the player to take his time before joining Roma because they were looking to sell maybe Lacazette, or maybe Eddie Nketiah to have a free slot for a new striker with Tammy Abraham.
“They were really interested in talks with the agent, they were prepared to make a proposal, but they were needing to sell a striker before signing Tammy Abraham.
“They were really pushing and pushing from Arsenal, they were trying in every possible way. So Arsenal were really convinced to have chances to sign Tammy Abraham but in football, it’s not always possible to change the mind of the players.”
TIF Thoughts on Arsenal’s attempts to sign Abraham…
In hindsight, it now appears to be a deal that the Gunners should have moved heaven and earth to get done given their toothlessness in front of goal and how Abraham has started in Serie A with Roma, but once talks between Crystal Palace, Arsenal and Eddie Nketiah collapsed, a new striker coming in seemed a longshot – and Abraham had already arrived in Italy by then.
Abraham would have been a sensible signing for the Gunners and Mikel Arteta given his experience in the Premier League, as his sole full season leading the line for Chelsea saw him score 15 goals in the league, which is a feat that Lacazette has never managed to reach.