Antoine Griezmann is one of the most prolific strikers of world football. The French star arrived at the Camp Nou in 2019. A soap opera that was not supposed to be dragged for so long finally came to an end and Griezmann was officially a Blaugrana man. But this was the easy part. The path of Griezmann succeeding is full of hurdles.
Antoine Griezmann: Perfect Buy or Not?
The Positional Dilemma
Since Ousmane Dembele is frequently injured, Griezmann started off as a left-winger for Barcelona. Being a winger in his early Real Sociedad days, he had some experience in the flanks but his primary position is the No. 10. He can also be deployed as a False 9 or as an attacking midfielder, a position that Lionel Messi currently occupies.
Griezmann in his Sociedad days used to be a winger. He scored a total of 46 goals in 180 appearances. So, this didn’t hurt him a lot. He does possess a dose of pace which provides the team with additional width and allows him to cut inside and let Jordi Alba overlap. This also brings him away from Messi as they wouldn’t want to step on each other’s toes.
If Not a Winger, then Where Else?
He could be deployed in the No. 9 position in place of Luis Suarez. However, it isn’t likely very soon as Suarez will always be the primary choice until he’s injured or on the sidelines for some other reason. Griezmann hasn’t been tested yet as the No. 9 for Barcelona, so it’s uncertain what’ll happen.
The False-9 Position: Perfect Place for Griezmann?
Finally, he fits perfectly in a “False-9” setup used back in Pep Guardiola’s glory days. He can be the False-9 with Messi on the right flank, Dembele on the left with Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets and Arthur pulling the strings from the centre. With rumours of a Neymar reunion now thumped as the Frenchman rejected PSG’s advances, Antoine Griezmann’s future is uncertain.
Will he become an essential part of the squad or will he get wasted at the Catalan capital? Only time will tell.
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