Former Arsenal striker John Hartson believes new manager Unai Emery can be a success at the club, but only once he’s given the kind of transfer funds to compete for big-name signings.
The Welshman named Chelsea duo Eden Hazard and Willian as two players who seem to be available, but who Arsenal don’t seem to stand any chance of signing.
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Both are among the finest attacking players in Europe, with Hazard being linked with a £112million move to Real Madrid, while Willian is a £55m target for Barcelona, according to the Daily Star.
Needless to say, the Gunners could certainly do with at least one of those in their squad, with someone like Hazard clearly a massive step up from the likes of Alex Iwobi or Danny Welbeck on that left-hand side.
Arsenal have had a busy summer, bringing in a new goalkeeper in Bernd Leno, new defenders in Stephan Lichtsteiner and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, and new midfielders in Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi.
Hartson, however, has suggested it’ll take much more than that for Emery to help Arsenal catch their rivals in the title race.
‘I think they need to be a bit patient with him and I believe in time he’s got the capabilities if he’s given the funds to add to the group they’ve got,’ Hartson told the Star.
‘But they’re still a long way from signing the best players in the world, as when they come up, when the best players in the world become available, they’re never in for them. They’re never in for them.
‘Why aren’t they in for Hazard? Why aren’t they in for Willian? Why aren’t they in for these big players that would probably cost £80m?
‘I don’t think they’re prepared to go there.’