Arsenal are flying high in the Premier League and look like one of the challengers to Manchester City's Premier League crown for a second consecutive season, but Gunners icon Sol Campbell thinks they need two more marquee signings in order to get over the line.
The Gunners are sitting third in the Premier League, level on points with second-place Liverpool, and one point off City after 12 games. However, a key change from last season to the current campaign is Arsenal's return to the Champions League.
And to avoid a similar mid-season dropoff that saw them surrender the top spot of the Premier League in the dying games last term, Arsenal legend Campbell has told manager Mikel Arteta to look into the possibility of addressing one key problem on the pitch.
Campbell believes his former club are missing an out-and-out No. 9, who's a disruptive force and an occupier of rival defences. Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah are on the books at the Emirates, but the former has struggled with injuries and the latter, a Hale End academy graduate, struggles for consistency.
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"In the end, they will have to decide by January, do they need a centre forward," Campbell told Mirror Football at the Web Summit in Lisbon. "Twenty to 25 goals in the Premier League. You know, in those big, tight games. I think it will help them.
"Is it always easy to find the right centre forward? I think eventually if they get someone like that, the right centre forward to compliment the attack - you need them to be able to play to dislodge defences.
"Some defences understand your frequency but you bring in another player to change that frequency and other things happen. Bringing on someone really changes it up."
Campbell believes the Gunners need a striker to win the Premier League (Getty)Campbell has his eye on two strikers in particular: Victor Osimhen of Napoli and Brentford's Ivan Toney, who is currently serving a betting ban. The two have both been linked with big-money moves next summer, and Osimhen recently opened up on rejecting a move to the Saudi Arabia Pro League.
The Arsenal legend conceded either will cost are large sum of the King's finest to tempt their respective clubs to sign off on a transfer. However, spending hasn't been an issue for the Gunners in recent years, with the top three spenders in the Premier League.
The Arsenal ownership has signed off on £586million worth of players in the Arteta era, which has only produced an FA Cup and two FA Community Shields thus far. Declan Rice is the Spaniard's most expensive signing, joining from West Ham in the summer for £105m.
Ivan Toney is a Brentford and England player, who is currently serving a betting ban (Getty)
Victor Osimhen is Napoli's poster boy and helped deliver a Serie A title last season (Getty)"Osimhen," Campbell said when asked what striker he wanted Arsenal to sign. "But is he going to cost too much money? There's Ivan [Toney]. I think they're good [in other areas of the pitch]. Center forward is one thing they might need to look at and see the possibilities, see what's out there, or wait until next season.
"But if the right person comes along, an out-and-out striker, that can unlock those tight games, knows what to do in those positions, and also keeps defence occupied to then free up other people, they should maybe look at it Christmas time - if not, definitely next season. The right person will offload the pressure on the team, I think."
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