"He ripped us to shreds" - Ian Wright comments on Arsenal's failure to sign former Chelsea forward

Former Arsenal striker - Ian Wright
Former Arsenal striker - Ian Wright

Arsenal were among the clubs who tried to sign Tammy Abraham from Chelsea last summer but fell short as AS Roma beat them to the player's signature.

After watching the 24-year-old striker light up Serie A following his move to the Italian capital, Gunners legend Ian Wright has expressed regret over his former side's big miss.

Tammy Abraham has raised his game to an incredible level since reuniting with former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho in Rome.

The Englishman has scored four goals in his last four Serie A outings and Ian Wright couldn't help but shower praise on him for his brilliant goalscoring exploits.

"Tammy Abraham. The king of Rome," the former Gunners forward said on his own podcast.
"The way Tammy has gone over there, he's lit it up. I couldn't see Mourinho taking Tammy there and it working like it's worked. This is where Mourinho baffles me, where he's said 'Out of all people, I'm going to take Tammy, I'm going to take him to Roma and put him in this team.
"I remember his first game. He was magnificent from the off. Everything that's going on around him, it just feels like he's that guy."

The Gunners have recorded significant improvement in recent months, with the squad now demonstrating a deeper understanding of Mikel Arteta's system. Ian Wright believes Tammy Abraham would've been a heavenly fit in the current setup.

He said:

"We tried to get him Arsenal and when you look at how Arsenal play now, how Tammy is playing, you say to yourself, 'Mikel, you see the vision!'
"When it was happening you think, 'Yeah, I could see it happening,' because he ripped us to shreds (when he played for Chelsea)," the Gunners legend added.

Tammy Abraham's numbers for Chelsea against Arsenal

The Englishman faced Arsenal on five different occasions during his time at Stamford Bridge, recording two goals and two assists to his name.

The Gunners, however, have the edge when it comes to who has won more between the two parties, claiming three victories, one draw and one defeat from their five meetings.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Tammy Abraham has bagged 23 goals and four assists for Roma in 40 appearances across all competitions this season.

It remains to be seen how many more goal contributions he will add to his tally before the campaign concludes. The English forward joined Roma for a fee of £34 million last summer. Abraham's deal also includes a buy-back clause of £68 million that can only be triggered after two seasons.

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Edited by Arjun Panchadar