Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has conceded that the gunners need to sign their own Virgil van Dijk if they are to solve their current defensive issues.
Liverpool turned into Premier League champions with some shrewd business in the market, most especially when they signed Virgil van Dijk from Southampton and Alisson from Italian side Roma.
When asked if Arsenal needed to make a Van Dijk-esque signing, Arteta said: ‘Yes as that is the way that I believe a team has to be built.
‘They were conceding goals, with some individual errors and some set pieces as well. ‘And the moment they touched the spine of the team that changes dramatically. So that is a quick fix.
‘You get one of the best defenders in the world with the best goalkeeper in the world with one of the best holding midfielders in the world and you change it pretty quickly.
‘You can see what happened straight away at Manchester City when Aymeric Laporte came in. ‘But we have to know that we have to do it our way with our resources. We have to find a way.’
Arteta has been unable to put his stamp on the Arsenal team due to financial problems at the club and was restricted to only loan signings in the January window.
- Solskjaer: Other teams can debate FFP, but we will stick with it
- Guardiola hits back at Klopp and Mourinho in defiant FFP rant
‘At the end of the day everything that has to come through our door has to be top, top quality,’ the Arsenal manager explained.
‘That is the demands of this football club and it cannot be any different. If we have to wait for the right player in order to do that, let’s wait.
‘But everything that comes through our door has to be something that significantly increases the level of the team.
‘It is a good mixture [of players from relegated and big clubs] because as well they bought players from Monaco, they bought players from Italy.
‘You need players that have the experience in the Premier League and they’ve done it here, so in terms of adaption the process it is much quicker.
‘But as well they bought players with European experience, playing in big national teams with big responsibilities – and, don’t forget, for a big amount of money as well.’
