Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has reiterated his desire to sign a striker this summer but said the position is one of the hardest to fill.
Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal exit to Paris Saint-Germain means Arsenal will end a fifth consecutive season without silverware despite sustained progress under Arteta since taking charge in December 2019.
His sole trophy remains the 2020 FA Cup and Arsenal are under pressure to bolster their forward line this summer to improve their chances of adding further honours.
“Do I have to make it more clear? In January it was clear or not?” he said. “I told you because you were in the room I think many times and it was a very clear statement. The statement continues the same.
“I want the best team, the best player. If we have three goal scorers over 25, bring them in and we’re going to be a much better team.”
Pushed on whether a top striker was the toughest type of player to acquire, Arteta continued: “Probably they are because there’s not that many that put those numbers [up]. It’s something that’s in the stats. There’s not that many in the Premier League.”
“It’s all relative to the context, to the moment and the narrative that you want to generate. I understand that.” “In the Premier League we’ve gone a step backwards,” Arteta said. “With the points that we have created it’s clear that we haven’t done as good as last season, that’s obvious.
After finishing second with 89 points and scoring 91 goals, Arteta’s side are on 67 points with 64 goals scored ahead of their final three matches.
