Martin Keown has said Arsenal do not need to sign a new striker, but has identified right-back as a potential 'problem' area that Mikel Arteta must address before the transfer window closes.
Keown's verdict on Arsenal's squad
Asked by Hayers TV whether Arteta needs to make more big signings to retain the Premier League title and finally win the Champions League, Keown bluntly replied: 'No.'
'I wondered whether they might look again at a striker. But they obviously feel now Havertz has come through the pre-season… I think that's really critical and he's got that base for the season, so no,' he said.
Keown pointed to competition in midfield with Myles Lewis-Skelly coming through and Martin Zubimendi fighting for his place, and praised the depth in defence, including Riccardo Calafiori, Piero Hincapie, and Cristhian Mosquera, who has impressed in pre-season.
Right-back concern
'Right-back could be a problem if Jurrien Timber's not going to be ready because obviously Ben White's had a few injuries, but Mosquera again can go into that position. So, that might be something they're looking at, to bring a right-back in,' Keown added.
Timber was forced to pull out of the Netherlands squad for the World Cup due to a persistent groin problem, and Arteta has confirmed he will miss the first few weeks of the season. White suffered four separate injuries last season, missing 13 games, and has been linked with a transfer away from north London.
Arsenal's transfer activity
Reports on Friday emerged that Arsenal have begun talks to sign Jarell Quansah from Bayer Leverkusen. The England international is said to be open to moving to the Emirates just a year after he joined Leverkusen from boyhood club Liverpool for £30million. Naturally a centre-back, Quansah can also play right-back, as he did during England's run to third place at the 2026 World Cup.
While some fans may be underwhelmed by the prospect of signing more defenders than attackers, Keown defended the approach: 'They proved it [that they have a good defensive core] last year. You might have looked at it and thought we had too many left-backs, but in the end we used all of them and [there were] multiple changes to the back-four. I'd like to see a bit more stability.'
