With the club’s title challenge having effectively ended, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has passed his verdict on who the Gunners should sign in order to win the Premier League.
Henry believes that the Gunners need an out and out striker who can sniff out goals even in a match where the opposition are making it difficult for them.
“Who are you going to get that will get the goals to help you win the title? Not the goals every weekend, but a guy that can score when you need to score, the guy who needs one opportunity to score to put you 1-0 up,” said Henry on Sky Sports. “Where are you going to get a Sergio Aguero, a (Robert) Lewandowski or a (Luis) Suarez from?”
Essentially, Henry is saying that Arsenal should sign a striker like him (in his heydays).
As good as he might have been at Arsenal, Henry seems to have found a modern striker who can finally fit into the role that he once fulfilled under Wenger’s tutelage.
“(Pierre-Emerick) Aubameyang might be available (but) are you going to be able to attract him?”
However, as he himself points out, attracting a top player like Aubameyang might be easier said than done, as he has been noticed by a number of other top clubs from around the world.
“It’s not always easy but who is going to stay? If you know who is going to stay then you can think more about who is going to come in,” continued Henry.
The ‘Catch-22’ situation for Arsenal
While signing a top striker like Aubameyang will certainly do them a lot of good, the Gunners are facing a difficult situation yet again. They find themselves in the all-too-familiar predicament of needing to finish in the top-four positions to qualify for the Champions League. Champions League football is essential for attracting the best players to the club.
However, even a Champions League finish might not be enough for them to attract the top players anymore as the club has been in stagnation after having gone more than a decade without winning the league. Of course they have won a couple of FA Cups in the last two seasons, but that is not enough for a club of their stature. They simply must show the top players that they can do more than just qualify for the Champions League.