Barcelona’s recruitment has been a disaster in recent years, but Antoine Griezmann might be the worst one yet.
That’s not a slight against him at all as a player – he’s a fantastic all-round striker who would be a star for almost any club in the world.
The problem at Barca is they signed him without having any kind of plan on how to use him, and he just doesn’t fit the system at all.
On top of that it looks like he doesn’t fit into the Messi/Suarez clique in the dressing room, and he’s a shadow of his former self.
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That doesn’t mean he needs to be written off, and a report from The Express has suggested that a move to Arsenal could be just what he needs after a torrid time in Spain.
They point out that Barcelona paid £100m to sign him last summer, although it’s not clear if he would cost that much if he left this summer.
Griezmann only came on for the last couple of minutes in Barca’s crucial game against his former club Atletico Madrid last night, and the report says his time at the club is coming to an end.
The problem for Arsenal would probably be finding a way to afford the transfer fee and his wages, but it’s easy to see him being a great fit at The Emirates if the could make it happen.
You also have to wonder if there would be a way of fitting Griezmann and Aubameyang in he same starting XI. It would require someone to play wide or a totally new shape, so perhaps it would need Aubameyang to move on first before this could happen.
It also means that Barcelona will probably have to write off the signings of Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Griezmann from recent years, and it shows you why they are in so much trouble.