Ray Parlour has named an ‘ideal’ striker signing for as he revealed his concern over current Gunners forward Eddie Nketiah.
While Arsenal are and another £40m on defender , Parlour believes his former club need to sign a new striker.
Mikel Arteta currently has Gabriel Jesus as his first-choice striker and Nketiah as back-up, with new signing Kai Havertz capable of playing as a false nine, though he is expected to adopt a deeper role following his switch from Chelsea.
But Parlour has questioned whether Nketiah is good enough to lead the line for Arsenal on a long-term basis if Jesus gets injured.
As a result, Parlour wants to see another striker arrive at the Emirates Stadium this summer and says Ivan Toney would have been an ‘ideal’ signing had the Brentford striker not been banned for eight months for breaking FA betting rules.
‘I always think that you need a bit of back-up,’ Parlour told when asked about Arsenal’s options up front.
‘Eddie Nketiah did really well when he came into the team last season, but the Arsenal sides I was part of always had four really good strikers.
‘I know that a lot of teams play with one forward now, but in my teams we had Nwankwu Kanu, Sylvain Wiltord and obviously Thierry (Henry) and Dennis (Bergkamp).
‘I do think we need that extra striker. If Gabriel Jesus gets injured again, is Eddie going to be able to come in and do well enough in the Champions League?
‘I know that we could play with a false nine, but I would like that security of having an out-and-out striker. The problem is, who is available? Who can Arsenal bring in that position?
‘If the circumstances were different, I would have gone for Ivan Toney all day long. I think he would have been ideal for Arsenal. He reminds me a little bit of Ian Wright.
‘I am sure that Edu is looking all over the world to see who is available. We also don’t know how much Arsenal can spend, especially if we’re going to spend a big chunk of the budget on Declan Rice. We may have to sell a few players to make room for another striker.’
Arteta is hoping to build on a promising season in which Arsenal finished second behind Manchester City and secured their Champions League return following a six-year absence.
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