It has been reported that Arsenal are in the market for a top-quality striker, but Arsene Wenger insists he is in no rush to add to his options.
The Gunners will go into the new season in the hunt for a first Premier League title since 2004, but there is a growing optimism within the club that they have a genuine chance of wrestling the crown from capital rivals Chelsea. This is fuelled not only by successive FA Cup wins, but a third place finish last term and a pool of players which is looking increasingly stronger.
One position Wenger was determined to improve was goalkeeper, and he has done exactly that by taking Petr Cech from the champions for £11million. The need for a holding midfield player has lessened since the emergence of French starlet Francis Coquelin, but there is a general consensus that a new striker is needed for the Emirates Stadium club to truly compete.
At present Wenger has Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck and Oliver Giroud who can all operate as the main man up top, but only the latter is considered to be a conventional centre forward. Joel Campbell, another potential option, has failed to convince and could be sold this summer, and Chuba Akpom, at just 19-years-old, is still learning his trade.
Real Madrid ace Karim Benzema and Lyon’s Alex Lacazette have both been linked with Arsenal, but after seeing his side beat the French club 6-0 on Saturday afternoon, Wenger insists he is in no rush to sign a new striker. Whilst the 65-year-old is not ruling out making another signing before the start of the new season, he believes he has enough quality in his current squad.
“We are open-minded but we are not desperate. Today we didn’t have (Danny) Welbeck or (Alexis) Sanchez, who are big players,” he said. “We will have a good squad when everyone is back. We are open-minded but many clubs are on the market with big, big money. When you win the FA Cup final scoring four goals and score six today, it shows scoring goals is not our problem.”
Giroud, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alex Iwobi, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla scored the goals which beat Lyon in the Emirates Cup, which resumes today when Lyon take on Spanish side Villarreal at 14:00 on Sunday. The competition then ends after the second game of the afternoon, which sees the Gunners face Bundesliga runners-up Wolfsburg.
