Paul Merson has dissuaded Arsenal from going all out to sign Goncalo Ramos.
Mikel Arteta is in dire need of another number nine after Gabriel Jesus’s knee injury.
The Arsenal hitman is out until March and with only Eddie Nketiah as a deputy, the Gunners desperately need another striker in January.
In December, GiveMeSport claimed that the Portugal international was on Arteta’s radar.
The Benfica marksman, who has a £106 million release clause, lit up the World Cup in Qatar with a hat-trick in a 6-1 demolition of Switzerland.
Portugal were dumped out by Morocco in the following round – the quarter finals – and the former Arsenal midfielder has slammed Ramos for that performance, claiming that it looked like he had never even kicked a football before.
He told The Daily Star, when referencing who the North Londoners could sign to replace Jesus: “Portugal striker Goncalo Ramos was also mentioned but after scoring a hat-trick against Switzerland, he looked like he’d never played football before in the quarter-final defeat against Morocco.
“Ramos should have been full of confidence but he looked half the player, it just didn’t make sense.”
Is Ramos overrated? Perhaps. But is he better than Nketiah? Probably.
That’s the question.
Arsenal don’t need a red-hot striker for the long term, because they have one in the form of Jesus, but they do need a better option than Nketiah in the short term.
But for £106 million, Ramos isn’t stellar enough to suit the Gunners’ needs, no.
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