Arsenal and Liverpool made the Premier League proud by winning their Round of 16 fixtures in the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven and Paris Saint-Germain respectively in style.
Arsenal sent a message to the rest of Europe to doubt them at their own peril — tearing PSV away 7-1 thanks to a brace from Martin Odegaard and goals from Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori.
Liverpool made an equally resounding statement by beating PSG 1-0 at the Parc des Princes as Harvey Elliott pounced upon Darwin Nunez’s pass to score an 87th-minute winner and send the visiting supporters into a frenzy.
But the stark contrast between both sides’ respective victories was that while Mikel Arteta and Co showed they can score goals galore without a striker, Arne Slot displayed the importance of one as Nunez played a crucial role in the Reds’ dramatic triumph.
In fairness to Arsenal, Kai Havertz is injured and so is Gabriel Jesus. However, some would argue that unlike Nunez, neither of the Gunners duo can really be classed as traditional frontmen.
- READ MORE: Rio Ferdinand starts laughing after hearing what Arne Slot did during Liverpool’s 1-0 win vs PSG
Rio Ferdinand says Darwin Nunez during PSG vs Liverpool exposed Arsenal’s striker crisis
Rio Ferdinand initially stated that Arsenal needed to sign a striker, claiming that Havertz and Jesus do not possess the quality to help them win the league title.
The pundit said on Rio Ferdinand Presents: “I would’ve definitely made a beeline for a centre-forward, 100 per cent. Given that you haven’t got [Eddie] Nketiah, [Gabriel] Jesus has got a mad injury as well, which they never knew about but they haven’t got an out-and-out number nine.”
“They’ve got [Kai] Havertz up there, who’s done an okay job. But around that pool of number nines in your squad, there has to be an out-and-out number nine in there surely. You can’t rest on your hat, I don’t think on Havertz and go, ‘He’s going to win us the league’ when he’s not even an out-and-out number nine. He’ll contribute to you winning a league, I believe but you’ve got to have a number nine in there surely.”
Rio Ferdinand went on to emphasise that Nunez’s impact against PSG for Liverpool was a reminder of why it is imperative for Arsenal to have at least one traditional striker in their squad at least.
“They [Arsenal] do [need a striker] because I think they need the mix. Okay, the first leg, PSG versus Liverpool, they haven’t got an out-and-out number nine on the pitch in the first half, Liverpool. He [Nunez] comes on, the number nine, sets up the goal. You need that point of reference who could be a bit different at times. You can’t keep bringing on the same players, same types of players so I think a number nine in a squad, whether you’re going to start him or not does impact that team in a positive way.”
Nunez could leave Liverpool this summer but whether it is against PSG or against Brentford when he scored a brace off the bench, the former Benfica striker does add a different element to Arne Slot’s side — a profile of player Mikel Arteta lacks in his arsenal.
Four strikers Arsenal could sign in the summer
Despite there being months left for the summer transfer window to begin, Arsenal continue to be linked with a whole raft of centre-forwards.
The most high-profile name is Alexander Isak, who is Mikel Arteta’s first-choice target.
One of them is Hugo Ekitike, who Arsenal are interested in signing.
Even Ollie Watkins and Benjamin Sesko are on Arsenal’s radar.
So far, the aforementioned names seem to be Arsenal’s primary targets.
- Alexander Isak
- Hugo Ekitike
- Ollie Watkins
- Benjamin Sesko
Even if Arsenal do not end up signing such big-name strikers, as long as one of them can impact games off the bench like Nunez did against PSG, Rio Ferdinand and others will stop recommending them to sign a centre-forward.
