Former Chelsea striker is reportedly in talks to join Arsenal

This season served as a wake up call for everyone involved with Chelsea. The Blues were touted as top title contenders at the beginning of the year following their signing of Romelu Lukaku. But by the time the campaign was coming to a close, they had dug themselves down into the dreaded top four race. This was supposed to be the first stress-free year in a while as Thomas Tuchel’s men looked to secure a Champions League place well before the season concluded. Nevertheless, it found itself entangled in a three-horse race for the last two spots up until matchday 37.

This close finish to the campaign revealed that—in terms of consistency across an entire 38-game season—Chelsea is closer in quality to Arsenal and Tottenham than it is Liverpool and Manchester City. This might be a hard pill to swallow for supporters, it’s the truth though. Thus, fans will be keeping a close eye on the transfer dealings of the Blues’ cross-town rivals throughout the entirety of the upcoming window. The Chelsea faithful will therefore be interested in hearing about the newest name added to the Gunners’ transfer wishlist.

Former Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata is reportedly in talks to join Arsenal

According to reports out of Spain, former Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata is in talks to join the Blues’ north London rival, Arsenal. Mikel Arteta and his staff are in search of a new No. 9 following the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona in the winter. The Gunners are on track to re-sign current starting forward Eddie Nketiah, but they’ll be scouting the transfer market to find other solutions. It now seems as if they’ve landed on a striker who is eager to take the approach of Robert the Bruce, “if at first you don’t succeed try, try and try again.”

The words believed to have first been echoed by the Scottish king back in 1314 obviously resonate with the Atletico Madrid man. Ironically enough, Morata will be out to replicate Robert the Bruce’s actions if he joins Arsenal, as his job would also be to beat the English.

The reason that the 29-year-old is following the wise words of Robert I is because he’s already failed to succeed once during his career in England’s top flight league. Morata made a £70 million (a club record which has since been topped numerous times) switch from Real Madrid to Chelsea in 2017. He ended up playing for the Blues for a season and a half under Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri. Morata appeared in 72 games for the club, scoring 24 goals and adding six assists.

Chelsea fans will be licking their lips at the prospect of the one-time flop joining a bitter rival. In addition to the simple, joyous banter that the move would result in, Morata’s potential transfer to the Emirates would take another big name off the board on the striker market. It is not yet known whether or not the Blues will be pursuing another No. 9 for the third straight summer or not, but if they do decide to move on from Lukaku in the coming months, it’s better to not have competition. It could quite possibly all depend on how willing Todd Boehly and his consortium are to accept a loss from the previous regime. Lukaku would fetch nowhere near the £97.5 million he commanded less than a year ago, which means that Chelsea would take a serious financial hit.

Morata is also a lot less daunting of an option to lead Arteta’s front line than some of the other names being discussed. Arsenal jokes aside, the Gunners are a lot closer in terms of quality to the Blues than many would like to admit. The right additions would help close the gap in quality between the two sides in a summer that Tuchel sees as a period of rebuilding for Chelsea.

Would you like to see Morata join the Gunners? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!