Ex-Arsenal striker Ian Wright has expressed his delight following Arsenal’s record signing of Nicolas Pepe – and thinks his former side are a couple of signings away from becoming a solid top-four outfit.
In a video posted on his YouTube account, Wright looked forward to the season ahead after his club won the race to sign the Ivorian, who has cost Arsenal a club-record £72m.
Wright feels the signing adds to the exciting youngsters coming through at the club, and should the Gunners add to their defence in the remaining days of the window, there will be no excuses for the team not to secure a top-four finish next season.
The former Gunners forward called for another left-back and centre-back before the window shuts.
He said: “You’ve got to say now, that when you look at this squad and the players that we’ve got, offensive players and young players – Reiss [Nelson], Eddie [Nketiah], Joe [Willock]. When you look at that squad, it’s not a Europa League squad no more.
“It’s a massive season ahead for us. And if those last two deals happen, then I’m sorry, but there’s no excuses going in for the boss, or anyone. Because that team should be more than good enough to get us into that top four, and that’s what I believe that we should be doing with this squad.”
Despite making four additions in the transfer market, Unai Emery’s rebuild of the Arsenal squad is arguably greater than it may seem, with the likes of Nketiah and Willock, as Wright mentioned, earning plenty of first-team minutes in pre-season.
Though even when considering the in-house reinforcements made to the Arsenal squad in the off-season, their defence is still as it previously was – with any role for returning loanee Calum Chambers countered by the uncertain future of captain Laurent Koscielny.
Therefore, if Wright is to get his wish of a double swoop before the end of the transfer window, it looks like Arsenal will have to be extremely busy in the coming days as the deadline nears.
