Former Arsenal captain William Gallas has told his old side to try and recruit three new defenders and a striker before trying to sign a new midfielder during the summer transfer window.
The Gunners are keen to bolster their options in the centre of the park, with West Ham United captain Declan Rice the primary target, football.london understands. But Gallas has urged manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu to think about strengthening their backline instead.
"I think Arsenal need to recruit a lot of players," the Frenchman told Genting Casino when asked about the north Londoners' needs for the summer window. "They need a left back, a right back. Ben White is not a right back – I think we’ve seen that in the difficult games.
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"When Arsenal have played better opponents, he has struggled to have an impact in the offensive part of the game. I think that is because he is a centre-back that is being played out of position.
"I think Arsenal need to sign an experienced centre-back. I’ve said this many times: Arsenal needed to sign one experienced centre-back just in case one of Gabriel or Saliba got injured, which unfortunately happened.
"I think Arsenal need to add a different type of striker too." Gallas continued by admitting that a midfielder should definitely be on the agenda but only after the defence is addressed.
He added: "I think that Arsenal could look at adding one more midfielder, but before they do that, they should think about adding a good right back, a good left back – players that know how to defend. They need a centre-back. Arsenal can’t go into next season without adding an experienced centre-back because if one of (William) Saliba or Gabriel (Magalhaes) gets injured, they are in trouble."
The Gunners had boasted an impressive defensive record when Saliba was fit, conceding just 25 times in 27 Premier League fixtures. However, after the Frenchman picked up a lower back issue in March, they begun to leak goals, shipping 18 in the ten games since.
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