BBC pundit Chris Sutton has urged Arsenal to sign Bournemouth ace Dominic Solanke in January to reinforce their attacking department.
After losing to West Ham United last time out, the Gunners have lost their league leader status, sitting two points behind the table topper Liverpool.
It has widely been suggested that Arsenal need to sign a prolific goal-scorer to win the Premier League title this season and the defeat versus the Hammers showed exactly why they need a new striker as despite taking 30 attempts, they couldn’t find the back of the net.
Gabriel Jesus was deployed in the centre-forward position and the Brazilian had two glorious opportunities to score, but he couldn’t show the cutting edge in front of the goal. Jesus has previously acknowledged that scoring goals isn’t his strongest suit.
Eddie Nketiah was introduced versus West Ham in the second half to salvage something from the game but he was largely anonymous. So, following a disappointing defeat against the London rival, it has been reported that Arsenal could now step up their effort to sign a new striker in January with Ivan Toney being the primary target.
Pundit urges Arsenal to sign Solanke
Now, speaking on BBC Sport, Sutton has said that Toney has been sidelined over the last few months due to his suspension problems having been found guilty of breaching the betting rules. So, there is a question mark whether he would be able to showcase his best straightaway after returning to action.
The pundit further states that Arsenal can’t afford to give Toney time as they are looking to mount a title charge this season. So, Sutton says that Arsenal would be better off signing Solanke from Bournemouth to bolster their attack.
Sutton said:
“There’s been plenty of talk already about how manager Mikel Arteta needs to sign another striker in January. Brentford’s Ivan Toney has been linked for a while, but he has not played for months because of his suspension. He will have been training, but how much match sharpness does he have?
“Arsenal are trying to win the title, so they haven’t got time to wait for anyone to get up to speed. If we are looking at the names that are supposedly within their grasp, Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke stands out as the best candidate.”
Solanke, standing at 6ft 1in tall, has been enjoying a stellar campaign this term, scoring 12 goals and registering one assist in 18 league appearances. So, he could be a shrewd signing for Arsenal to bolster their attack.
However, it is going to be interesting to see whether Arsenal eventually opt to formalise their interest in acquiring his service in the upcoming transfer window.
