Arsenal summer transfer target Tammy Abraham continued his prosperous start to life at Roma by scoring the winning goal as Jose Mourinho’s side beat Udinese 1-0 on Thursday.
Abraham broke the deadlock after 36-minutes for the Giallorossi to move up to fourth in the Serie A table. The 23-year-old now has three goals and two assists in seven games for the Stadio Olimpico outfit across all competitions.
Roma signed Abraham from Chelsea for €40m (£34m) on August 17 after fending off rival interest from Arsenal. Per The Sun, the Blues’ valuation had priced Mikel Arteta’s side out of a deal. Even if The Athletic note he had told his Blues teammates he wanted to join Arsenal.
Arsenal ultimately did not sign a striker after failing to offload Alexandre Lacazette or Eddie Nketiah. Neither have scored in the Premier League this season, with Martin Odegaard and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring the Gunners’ two goals.
Abraham earning praise in Italy
Abraham showed Arsenal what they missed out on as he delivered a pivotal role as Roma beat Udinese on Thursday. The £99k-a-week England international wisely drifted between the centre-backs to meet Riccardo Calafiori’s cross for a tap-in at close range.
His goal restored Roma to winning ways after tasting a first defeat under Mourinho against Hellas Verona last Sunday. Italian publication TuttoMercatoWEB were full of praise for the six-cap striker’s efforts. Having given more to the Giallorossi’s performance than just a goal.
“There is his signature, not the only one, on today’s success,” they wrote. “He applies himself, as always, with an enormous sacrifice. But he is also appreciated in the goal area thanks to the winger that brings the three points back to his side.”
Will Arsenal regret not signing Roma new boy Abraham from Chelsea?
Arsenal knew they had to raise funds by offloading Lacazette or Nketiah for Arteta to edge Roma to signing Abraham. Edu ultimately could not find homes for the French and English forwards, so could not land the former Chelsea man.
The Gunners’ struggles in front of the goal since will increase their frustrations at failing to refresh their frontline. Lacazette has also only played 31-minutes in the Premier League this season – all against Manchester City. While Nketiah has only featured in the EFL Cup.
Both Nketiah and Lacazette scored as Arteta’s men beat Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. But their performances are unlikely to return considerable top-flight minutes any time soon. While Abraham is showing at Roma what Arsenal could have unleashed.
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