Arteta names Arsenal’s No.1 summer transfer signing priority
Robin Bairner
- 5 Mar 2022 12:54 GMT
- 3 min read
Mikel Arteta is already planning for Arsenal’s summer transfer window and has outline the club’s chief priority during the summer months.
The Gunners had been expected to sign a midfielder and an attacker during the January window but came out of that period without a single new addition of note, despite losing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona.
Although Arsenal’s form has actually improved since January, Arteta is under no illusions that the club needs more muscle if they are to reach their goals, such as re-establishing themselves as Champions League regulars and, ultimately, mounting a challenge for the Premier League title.
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“Now is the moment that we have to raise our quality,” the Spaniard told the media.
And Arteta is clear where Arsenal need to improve.
“We need one who puts the ball in the net, that's priority number one. Any successful team needs enough goal threat in the squad,” he said.
Arsenal’s striker shortage
Arsenal are dramatically short of options in attack. On their books at present, they have only two centre-forward options: Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah.
Complicating matters further for the Gunners, both of these players are out of contract in the summer and could be free agents by July.
Arteta, though, has not ruled out Lacazette signing a new deal and has praised the former Lyon man.
“Laca has a really important quality, which is that he makes the people around him better,” he told Sky Sports. “He understands the game really well, he's a really intelligent player and his work-rate is phenomenal.
He's been very unlucky not to score another four, five, six goals
- Mikel Arteta on Alexandre Lacazette“I think he's been very unlucky not to score another four, five, six goals in this period. We want to give him the confidence and he will do that but, for me, he scored last week against Wolves.
“He was there to make the final action to win the match.”
Lacazette has three Premier League goals and five assists in 19 matches this season and had been expected to leave Arsenal before Aubameyang’s departure.
