In recent years, it has been a case of ‘what if’ for Arsenal in the hunt for the Premier League title. Arsene Wenger’s incompetence and failure to act in the transfer market has hindered our chances of winning a first league title since 2004 but supporters won’t stand for failure any more. The Gunners have a young, upcoming squad and signing a world class centre-forward HAS to be the number one priority for Wenger and the hierarchy this summer.

According to reports, Riyad Mahrez is on the verge of moving to the Emirates Stadium – a fantastic signing based on his performances last season. However, the Leicester City man wouldn’t solve our number one issue: finding a reliable goal threat to lead the line. While Olivier Giroud was impressive for France at Euro 2016, he just isn’t good enough to fire the Gunners to the title. The Giroud experiment has failed, it’s time to move on and sign a top talent…

Because if we sign a striker, we will be right in amongst it at the top of the division. In fact, many punters will be expecting Arsenal to challenge anyway after the Gunners pipped arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur to second place last season. Check out today’s odds on the Premier League title race at Betway and you will find Arsenal at 6/1 to win the crown – and Wenger’s men will be quietly confident of their chances right now. But the fans aren’t being fooled: we NEED a centre-forward.

If you believe the media, Alexandre Lacazette is pushing for a move away from Lyon and the Gunners could do much worse than the young Frenchman. While he isn’t proven at the top level, Lacazette has already shown enough class to suggest that he could mature into one of the best strikers in football world. The Lyon star became the first Frenchman to score 20+ goals in back-to-back seasons in Ligue 1 for the first time since the millennium; an incredible feat.


But is he the answer to our prayers? Potentially not but Wenger’s options are limited. In traditional Wenger style, he pondered over whether to move for Gonzalo Higuain and Serie A champions Juventus managed to hijack any possible bid for the Argentina man. Most fans were desperate for us to sign Higuain this summer – it would have been a title-winning signing; just as Luis Suarez would have been a couple of years ago. But once again, Wenger has failed us all…

Perhaps the only plausible option is Alvaro Morata. Real Madrid triggered his buy-back clause earlier this summer with the intention of selling him on to make a hefty profit and Arsenal could well get a decent striker just yet. Morata isn’t quite on Higuain’s level just yet but his skillset would certainly help the Gunners in their pursuit of the Premier League crown. For an estimated fee of around £50 million, Arsenal would expect instant success from the Spaniard.

However, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The Gunners have an abundance of young talent coming through the ranks and Arsenal could be on the verge of something really special at the Emirates Stadium. If nothing else, they could be set to build a dynasty era at the club – and a Premier League title success this year would be the perfect way to give the youngsters a platform to build on. Realistically, the title may be a step too far if we don’t sign a striker and Arsenal may be forced to settle for a place in the top four. Well, the fans won’t stand for it any more… we should be winning titles.

Mr Wenger, it’s over to you… get the chequebook out and pay up. Everybody else is. Unless the board decide to cough up, Arsenal will be cast adrift in the Premier League title race again.