As a lowball bid for Alexandre Lacazette was knocked back, fans would have started to worry that the Gunners transfer window was going to end in failure again. Another summer of saying ‘we tried’ looked likely following the rejection from Jamie Vardy. But it won’t. Or at least Arsenal won’t stop trying, Arsene Wenger has revealed.Â
No player has scored more than 16 Premier League goals for Arsenal since Robin van Persie left, and that is clearly not good enough for a team of Arsenal calibre. Wenger has admitted he is still in the market to make ‘one more’ attacking addition:
He said: ‘At the moment I have not too many attacking options in terms of experienced players. But let’s not forget we still have a few players at home.
‘There are also a few players who did not play (against the MLS All-Stars), like (Santi) Cazorla. And of course (Mesut) Ozil and (Aaron) Ramsey are at home. (Olivier) Giroud is also not here.
‘So we have options but we will still look outside to find one more.’
The key there is ‘experienced’ – Wenger wants a proven goalscorer, and that explains his move for Vardy. Lacazette is also experienced in terms of his goalscoring, he’s been consistently amongst the goals for several years now and he scored 21 in Ligue 1 last season. The 25-year-old Frenchman looks to be the primary target at this stage, although Wenger is likely to have other options lined up as Lyon remain consistent with their message – he is not for sale.
Wenger also revealed that he is searching for another defensive signing in the wake of Per Mertesacker’s injury. Rob Holding recently signed from Bolton for around £2million and he looked good against the MLS All-Stars last night, but it is obvious that the Gunners need another experienced defender in. Koscielny is the only reliable and fit central defender in the squad: Gabriel continues to look shaky, particularly when alongside Koscielny and Holding and Chambers are young and unproven as central defenders at this level.
Kostas Manolas, Fabian Schar and Shkodran Mustafi have all been heavily linked but they are all quite young. I think Wenger may surprise people in this area and move for someone who hasn’t been linked in the press much, an older head with more experience. In the long-term there is certainly a belief that the likes of Gabriel, Chambers and Holding can be quality central options for the Gunners.
Miss the game last night? Read our Player Ratings: Arsenal 2-1 MLS All-Stars