Roma striker Tammy Abraham has confirmed that he had the chance to seal a transfer to Arsenal last summer when he left Chelsea.
The England international has enjoyed a terrific season at the Stadio Olimpico, leading to the Gunners to look at him again this year, though, as CaughtOffside understands it, without much confidence that a deal can be done at the moment.
Abraham has given an intriguing interview to The Athletic to discuss his first year with Roma, and he’s given some insight into why he opted to link up with Jose Mourinho instead of moving to the Emirates Stadium.
Talking about last summer, Abraham said: “Yeah, I had a few (offers). The Arsenal one got out and there were other clubs as well, but it’s never black and white and just speaking to Mourinho and Roma and the sporting director, they had an ambition and an aim. They wanted the club to reach certain targets, they hadn’t won a trophy for a while and they hadn’t done as well in the league as they would have wanted.
“It was about seeing a vision and… how can I put it? It’s just like what Newcastle (United) are doing: building again. I could see where Mourinho wanted me to be and he believed in me. This was the best place for me. Thank god I’ve done it.”
Arsenal fans will surely be disappointed they missed out on the 24-year-old, who has gone on to show his immense potential in a superb debut season in Serie A.
Mikel Arteta could have done with a forward like that in his squad, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang suffering a loss of form before moving to Barcelona in January, while further exits are likely as both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are out of contract this summer.