Former Arsenal and England goalkeeper David Seaman has called on his former club to prioritise signing a striker off the back of the Gunners’ 1-0 defeat to West Ham on Saturday.
Arsenal’s Premier League title ambitions were dealt a major blow on Saturday, as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against West Ham. With the result, along with Liverpool’s win over Manchester City, the Reds have moved 11 points clear at the summit.
The Gunners have been forced to deal with countless injury concerns in recent weeks, especially in the attacking department, with their only two senior strikers, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, ruled out for the remainder of the season.
In their absence, Mikel Arteta has fielded Leandro Trossard and Mikel Merino as makeshift strikers, but once again, it has highlighted the North Londoners’ need to sign an out-and-out number nine.
Alexander Isak, Benjamin Sesko and several other strikers have been linked with a move to the Emirates in the past, however Arsenal failed to follow through on their interest, and any prospective transfers have failed to materialise.
Arsenal Should Prioritise Signing A Striker Says David Seaman
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live on Wednesday afternoon, ex-Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman called on his former club to sign a striker following Saturday’s defeat to the Hammers.
“When you look at the Arsenal performance, we didn’t create enough chances. I think they had either one shot at the West Ham goal or the goalkeeper only made one save with his foot and then, that was it.
“Obviously, people are going to focus on [the fact] we’ve always needed a striker and I must admit, that’s what I’m saying as well. We tried to get one in the transfer window. Hopefully, there’s now one lined up for the summer but it’s going to be a bit too late I think.”
Seaman continued: “There’s been players chipping in with three, four, five goals but when you look at the teams, you look at Liverpool, you look at City, they’ve all got main strikers.
“We’ve been playing this type of football for a long time and I just think that [getting a striker] will finish the jigsaw. That will hopefully be what makes it [winning the Premier League title] happen next season.
“You never know about this season because it’s not all done. We’ve still got the Champions League to go and that will be a big ask, but it’s not all doom and gloom.”
Asked about the Gunners’ title chances following their defeat at the weekend, the 61-year-old responded: “It’s going to be a tough ask. I’m not going to deny that.
“As I’d always say, until it’s mathematically not possible, then we’ll never admit it [defeat].”
According to the UK’s best football betting sites, Arsenal are the second favourites to lift the Premier League title come the end of the campaign at around 10/1, while league leaders Liverpool are heavily favoured at around 1/16.
