If Arsenal only sign two players this summer…..

Two Players Arsenal should sign this summer

Arsenal’s end of season demise showed no signs of slowing down against West Ham this month after the Gunners, in all too predictable fashion, let a two-goal lead slip at Upton Park.
Whilst Arsene Wenger’s men did manage to salvage a point in the game after a nine-minute Andy Carroll hat-trick propelled the Hammers into a 3-2 lead, the fact that they still failed to take all three points from such a comfortable position will only mount further pressure on Arsenal’s under-fire manager.

With first and second-placed Leicester City and Spurs both winning in comfortable fashion against Sunderland and Manchester United, respectively, just a solitary point at the Boleyn Ground should indeed prove to be the proverbial final nail in the coffin for Arsenal fans whom are still clinging onto the fading hope that their side could mount a title challenge.
With the Gunners’ involvement in the FA Cup and Champions League also curtailed just a few weeks earlier, they now have no choice but to secure that all too familiar fourth Champions League spot and look ahead to next season.

Whether Arsenal decide to stick with French boss Arsene Wenger for another season remains to be seen. The likes of Dutchman Ronald Koeman and Roberto Mancini are among the front runners to take over the Emirates hot seat next season. Gunners fans will be more than aware that, whoever is in charge of the club come this summer’s transfer window, will surely need the financial backing from the board to enable them to bring in a marquee signing or two.

And whilst the North London club have started to slowly loosen their purse strings in recent times with purchases of the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, with the latter priced at 33/1 at the time of writing with 32Red and Titanbet to win this year’s PFA player of the year award, their inability to sustain title challenges for the entirety of a season implies that there are still areas of the team which they need to address.

Here at the Arsenal Blog, we’ve identified two players Arsenal should sign this summer.

1) Romelu Lukaku

For us, this one is a no brainer. A strong, powerful, pacey striker is something the Gunners have lacked ever since they sold Thierry Henry to Barcelona in 2007 (sorry, Olivier). Whilst they do possess talented goalscorers such as Sanchez within their ranks, an actual out-and-out striker who can lead the attack from the front is something the Gunners have sorely missed.
Everton’s Romelu Lukaku has demonstrated on numerous occasions this season that he is the man who can fill this striker-less void at the Emirates.

In an Everton team that have had their fair share of problems on the field this season, the Belgian looks on course to break the 20-goal barrier in the Premier League and is 14/1 with 32Red to win this season’s Golden Boot. That is no mean feat when you consider the arguably superior service his rivals, Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane, have had at their respective clubs this season.

Letting the 22-year-old leave West London may have been one of the biggest mistakes Arsenal’s rivals, Chelsea, have ever made but there’s no reason why he can’t make a return to the English capital in the summer.

2) N’Golo Kante
Don’t be fooled by his small frame and sleight build, Leicester City midfielder N’Golo Kante is as tenacious as they come and could add that extra bite to midfield that the Gunners have been missing.

Much like stand-out team-mate Riyad Mahrez, Kante’s arrival at the King Power Stadium last year went pretty much under the radar, with the majority of supporters and Ligue 1 aficionados having no idea who he was. Fast forward nine months and the 25-year-old has become hot footballing property in the English Premier League.

For years now, pundits and fans alike have pointed to Arsenal’s ‘soft centre’ for the reason as to why they always seem to fall short at the final hurdle both domestically and in Europe. And whilst the ability of Arsenal’s current crop of midfielders to retain possession and create chances cannot be disputed, a midfielder in the mould of Kante who can provide extra protection to a sometimes vulnerable back four would certainly not go amiss at Arsenal next season.