Ian Wright has called on the Arsenal board to provide the funds to allow Mikel Arteta to further strengthen his squad after their win at Aston Villa on Saturday. The Gunners legend also heaped praise on Bernd Leno after he deputised for the injured Aaron Ramsdale.
Arteta's side clinched a 1-0 win at Villa Park courtesy of Bukayo Saka's first half strike, with the win moving Arsenal four points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United in the race for fourth spot. The north Londoners also have a game in hand over the Red Devils.
Wright hailed the Gunners’ performance against Villa and believes that the board must invest in the summer in order to allow the club to continue their upward trajectory. The Highbury icon also suggested that with a first top four finish since the 2015/16 season in their own hands, Arteta’s detractors are now being forced to eat their words.
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"I think a lot of people, a lot of pundits, have been very joyous in their punditry talking about Arsenal and how weak they are and having no leaders," Wright told Premier League productions. "And look at them now.
"You need people now to start saying that this Arsenal team – a young side – we’re starting to see characters grow in this side. We're starting to see people like Ben White, Gabriel, Kieran Tierney, Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey… we're talking about five, six, seven, even eight players who we’re getting 8/10 every week from.
"That’s what you have to do. Then it’s up to the owners and the management and the recruitment to bolt on the kind of players that are going to fit into that squad and continue to help them to improve. Like Bukayo said, last season it was something they really struggled at, defending and keeping hold of the lead, now they’re a lot better at it and they want to continue to get better at it."
Arsenal were without Ramsdale and Gabriel Martinelli for their trip to the Midlands due to injury, but Leno stepped in and produced an assured display between the sticks. Wright praised the German’s contributions, despite the fact he was rarely tested by Villa.
He added: "You have to mention the defence. Bernd Leno done fantastically well when he came in today. Villa obviously didn’t put him under as much pressure as I thought they would. But the defence, the midfield, everything was so solid and Arsenal winning games away from home like that is brilliant to see."
