Manchester United legend, Gary Neville has said that Arsenal must sign a new striker who has the ability of ‘sniffing, smelling and anticipating’ following their Premier League North London derby 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Arsenal currently have Gabriel Jesus as their main striker with Eddie Nketiah regularly operating as a back-up option, while Leandro Trossard can also be deployed as a centre-forward.
The Gunners sold striker Folarin Balogun in the summer, while recent signing Kai Havertz is being moulded into a midfield player.
However, Neville believes Mikel Arteta’s side need to recruit a new forward option if they are to close the gap to Manchester City amid the Premier League title race this season.
“You’ve got to have a couple of players in your team, at least one, who have that smell of where the ball is going to land,” Neville said on his podcast.
“Not a poacher, the days of poachers are gone, they just play off another striker and two up top. We are not in that moment anymore.”
He added, “And Gabriel Jesus, when he robbed James Maddison, these are big moments in the game and big things. You’ve got to be on the move and be sniffing, smelling, anticipating, and Arsenal have not got that.
“I really like this Arsenal team and they could go on to win a title or finish second, have a great season and win trophies without that type of player, but it became obvious in this game that it was missing. Alan Smith pointed it out in commentary too and he knows far more than I do.”
