MARTIN KEOWN BELIEVES Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger must invest heavily in the playing squad for next season, if the Gunners are to keep hold of star player’s Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.
The Frenchman has one year left on his contract at the Emirates Stadium, and with the North London club on the brink of ending the season without a trophy, the club’s fans will be demanding improvements for the 2016/17 campaign.
Keown, who played for Arsenal under Wenger, expects the 66-year-old boss to recruit during the summer, in order to boost the club’s chances of keeping hold of their biggest assets.
“I think he’ll be active in the transfer market. It’ll be a lot easier to sign Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to new deals if the team is being supplemented with top talent. Arsenal have stopped bleeding players, but it could happen again if Arsene doesn’t recruit well now,” he told the Daily Mail.
The Gunners were knocked out of the FA Cup by Watford, dumped out of the League Cup 3-0 by Sheffield Wednesday and convincingly lost 5-1 on aggregate to Barcelona, as Wenger’s team gave up all hope of winning a trophy, while Leicester City and Tottenham ran away with the Premier League.
The former England international believes the Arsenal coach, who arrived at the club in 1996, will want to go out with a bang and must recruit wisely to achieve success in, what could be, his final season in charge.
“One thing I am sure of is that Arsene will want to leave while he’s on top, and unless they win the title next season, he can only do that if he earns a new contract,” he added.
“Because of this I think he’ll be busy in the transfer market this summer, and one thing he needs to decide is whether his squad has the right experience to win the title. Coquelin and Elneny have done well, but does he want a more experienced player in the heart of his midfield? Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel are both good defenders, but is the partnership good enough for a title-winning defence?
“If there’s one thing Arsene has been guilty of over the years it’s overestimating the quality of his players, and I’m not sure he can afford to do that when he is in need of instant results.”
