Former Liverpool captain Graeme Souness has explained what Mikel Arteta must do to avoid being sacked by Arsenal.
Souness, 72, is not one to hold back if he feels something needs to be said, and this was the case in his recent Mail column.
The former Liverpool skipper discussed Arsenal and Arteta’s struggles in his piece, which was published on Friday (May 9), after the Gunners crashed out of the Champions League in the semi-finals with a 2-1 defeat (3-1 on aggregate) against PSG in Wednesday’s second leg in Paris.
As a result, Arteta will finish the 2024/25 campaign trophy-less, meaning he has failed to capture silverware since his 2019/20 FA Cup triumph.
So, what needs to change at Arsenal?
Well, according to Souness, the Gunners need to “put the ball in the back of the net when it really matters and that’s how you win the big competitions”.
Souness wrote: “Arsenal will not beat their biggest rivals to the big trophies unless they find a goalscorer and greater creativity in that final third.
“Twelve months on from criticising Arsenal for lacking a killer edge, here we are again going over the same shortcomings.”
Of course, Arsenal have been heavily linked with a move for Sporting CP striker Vitkor Gyokeres as well as Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak – although the Gunners’ sporting director Andrea Berta is thought to be a keen admirer of Gyokeres.
Viktor Gyokeres has been heavily linked with Arsenal (Credit:Getty)
Given the fact that the Swede has produced 52 goals and 12 assists this term, there is no doubt about his prowess in front of goal, but there have been murmurs that his age, soon to be 27, could be an issue for Arsenal.
But Souness does not feel that this is an issue that Arteta should concern himself with.
“For me, 27 is a great age to be getting a striker, so that shouldn’t be up for debate,” Souness explained.
“How long does Mikel think he has got? He has got to be thinking: if I don’t win trophies within the next 12 months, I could be down the road and out of a job here. So, getting a proven goalscorer, in his prime, through the door is the priority.”
What has Mikel Arteta said about summer transfers?
The Arsenal boss was open about his hopes for this summer when speaking in a press conference in April.
“It’s going to be a big one [summer] and we are very excited about it,” said Arteta. “When you are going to go again, we want to increase the depth of the squad and the quality and the skills that we need to go to the next step.
“Every summer is big because it is an opportunity – and especially because of the number of players we have in the squad right now, that is necessary.
“But it’s a big summer for many things because first of all we have to maintain the good foundations that we have and then obviously how can we improve and evolve the team.”
