Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has urged his former side to sell Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus ahead of next season.
Arsenal, who lost the Champions League final to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties on Sunday, will look to refresh their squad after Mikel Arteta called on the board to ‘be very ambitious’ this summer.
The Gunners clinched their first Premier League title in 22 years this season, although they missed out on a historic double in devastating fashion after Eberechi Eze and Gabriel both missed their penalties in Budapest.
Arteta is keen to ensure his side continue to succeed in the future and knows he needs an upgrade on the left side of his attack, as well as at striker, right-back and with further competition in midfield, as Daily Mail Sport revealed earlier on Monday.
In order for new recruits to arrive, Arsenal will have to move on some of their current players, while Petit has called for the trio of attackers to be sold.
While Bukayo Saka has made the right wing his own, the Gunners have struggled to find a suitable back-up to the 24-year-old, with last summer’s signing Noni Madueke proving hit-or-miss in that position.
Similarly, the left wing has been a problem area for Arteta, with both Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli often showing inconsistent form and neither clearly establishing themselves as first choice.
Petit told talkSPORT’s White and Jordan: ‘I think it’s easy to see what Arsenal are missing; for me, it’s wingers.
While Bukayo Saka has made the right wing his own, the Gunners have struggled to find a suitable back-up, with last summer’s signing Noni Madueke proving hit-or-miss
‘You need to have strong and powerful wingers with technical skills who can make a difference out wide.’
Striker Viktor Gyokeres, 28, has not quite reached the levels expected of him or those he showed at former club Sporting Lisbon, despite scoring 21 goals since signing for £63.5 million last summer.
Of his 14 Premier League goals this season, six came against newly promoted teams, and none came against a traditional ‘Big Six’ side other than two against Tottenham in February.
The Swede scored just once after his four goals in the Champions League group stages – a penalty against Atletico Madrid – and was dropped for the final in favour of Kai Havertz.
‘For me, the likes of Martinelli and Jesus… Gyokeres, I don’t know because he has just come into the club,’ Petit said.
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‘Trossard, I would keep him. Madueke for me isn’t good enough. I’m sorry to say that, but he must do much more to improve.
‘But we definitely need wingers, and probably a striker with pace, technical skills and great movement.
‘We need to improve up front.’
Among Arsenal’s potential targets are Aston Villa’s £80 million-rated Morgan Rogers, as well as Bournemouth’s exciting young forward Eli Junior Kroupi.
Rogers has scored 10 goals in all competitions this season, including 10 in the Premier League, and is set to become a crucial part of Thomas Tuchel’s side at the upcoming World Cup.
Kroupi, meanwhile, has scored 13 goals this season – the highest number by any teenager in a debut Premier League campaign, surpassing the previous record set by Robbie Fowler and Robbie Keane.
That tally includes goals against Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United, making the France youth international also the first teenager to score against all three sides finishing in the top three in a single season.
Trossard, who made 31 Premier League appearances this season, scored six goals, while Madueke managed just three in his 26 top-flight outings.
Gabriel Jesus, meanwhile, also scored only three league goals this season. The former Manchester City striker has endured an injury-hit four years at the club, making 84 Premier League appearances – just over half of the possible 152.
