William Gallas has accused Mikel Arteta and Arsenal of making a potentially costly transfer mistake.
The Premier League runners-up have been one of the more subdued clubs during the summer transfer window and are yet to make any signings.
Arsenal are, however, set to welcome three new players to the Emirates Stadium in Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Christian Norgaard.
In terms of outgoings, Jorginho and Kieran Tierney have left on free transfers and Raheem Sterling has returned to Chelsea following his dismal loan spell.
Thomas Partey also looks set to leave the club and Gallas believes it would be a mistake for Arsenal not to keep him at the Emirates Stadium.
Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
The Ghana international held talks over a contract extension following arguably his best season with Arsenal but is yet to reach an agreement with the Gunners.
Reports claim Partey has now decided to leave, given his current contract expires next week and he has attracted interest from several European clubs.
Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Juventus have expressed interest in signing Partey, who has made 167 appearances for Arsenal since his £45m move from Atletico in 2020.
‘I think with his quality, he could stay at Arsenal,’ Gallas told Genting Casino. ‘With what he has offered to the club over the last few years, he can easily stay.
‘And with their depth right now, I think it is best to add, not replace. I’m not sure of the reasons why he might leave, but I’m not sure it would be the best thing if he left.’
The signings of Zubimendi and Norgaard will compensate for Jorginho and Partey’s departures from Arsenal.
After signing those two midfielders and Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa, Arteta will prioritise a deal for a new striker, with Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko high on his wishlist.
‘Arsenal have been looking for a striker for, I don’t know exactly how long, but a top class striker should have arrived at Arsenal two or three years ago,’ Gallas added.
‘They didn’t sign one. They obviously didn’t think it was that important to add a top class striker.
Arsenal told to ‘break the bank’ for ‘perfect striker’ Alexander Isak
‘And I think that, when you look at their season, unfortunately, they didn’t want the Premier League badly enough on a couple of occasions where they came close – last season, and also two years ago.
‘They didn’t want it enough to go and add that last missing piece of the puzzle. So now they are being linked with strikers again, just like they were in January.
‘I hope they do get one of the strikers they want, because I hope they want the same thing every fan wants, which is to win the Premier League next season.
‘If they want to have a chance at winning the league next season, for me, it depends on if they go and sign a striker who knows the Premier League very well and has proven they can score the right amount of goals at the top level.
‘And I think the only player who fits that description right now is Alexander Isak.
‘I know it will cost a lot of money, but he constantly scores more than 20 goals and seems to keep improving each year in the Premier League.
‘So Arsenal should break the bank for him. He is the last piece of the puzzle, I feel, a perfect striker.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
No comments:
Post a Comment