Former Arsenal star Emmanuel Petit has advised the club to invest in Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres and AC Milan’s Rafael Leao to address persistent struggles in their attack, Soccernet.football reports.
Petit’s comments come amid Arsenal’s recent dip in form, having lost 1-0 to both Newcastle and Inter Milan in their last two games.
The back-to-back defeats have widened the gap between Arsenal and Premier League leaders Liverpool to seven points, leaving Arsenal’s title ambitions hanging by a thread.
In an interview with InstantCasino, Petit voiced his concerns over Arsenal’s current attacking options.
“Of course, Arsenal can score goals, but when I look at the attacking players, Kai Havertz has been amazing from the start of the season, but he’s struggling in the last few games because of what happened in his team,” he said.
Petit also pointed to Gabriel Martinelli, noting that “he is also struggling.” While Bukayo Saka and Havertz have contributed regularly this season, Martinelli has managed only two goals and two assists so far.
Highlighting Arsenal’s lack of a “real striker,” Petit stressed the importance of having a dedicated goal-scorer.
“Manchester City are the only team that has won the title in the Premier League with five or six midfield players scoring between 10 and 15 goals,” he observed.
“Arsenal don’t have the players in midfield to do that.” He continued, “Can you imagine if Arsenal played with a real striker that’s fighting to score goals in every single game? Arsenal would be a totally different team.”
Petit suggested Gyokeres and Leao as ideal targets to reinvigorate Arsenal’s forward line, with both valued at £126 million.
He stated, “If I could sign one player for Arsenal, I would probably go for Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon as a striker. He’s the player I would take because Nico Williams won’t come to the Premier League. I would also take Leao from AC Milan, the left winger.”
Petit believes that strengthening the front line with such signings is essential if Arsenal hopes to turn around their season.
He concluded, “If you want to win games, you need to score goals, and who is in the best position to score goals? It’s a striker. You can see that every single season, the Premier League champions normally have the best strikers.”
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have endured a recent poor run, with three losses in their last four matches across all competitions.
Sunday’s showdown against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge now looks even more critical as Arteta seeks a response to get Arsenal’s title challenge back on track.
