Arsenal have been advised to forget about signing Houssem Aouar as Thomas Partey is the sort of addition they require, according to former Liverpool and England star John Barnes.
The Gunners remain in the market for a central midfielder ahead of Monday evening's transfer deadline, having been linked with the Lyon and Atletico Madrid stars throughout the summer.
However, the pair are significantly different players, with Aouar possessing superb creativity and flair, while Partey would add grit and steel in front of the defence.
And Barnes has stated that it is the latter that Mikel Arteta's side requires, as he believes their attack is not something he needs to worry about.
"If I was Arsenal or Mikel Arteta, I wouldn’t be worried about Houssem Aouar, I would be looking at my defence," he told BonusBetCodes.
"Arsenal need more defenders and ones with quality. It’s not in attack where they need to strengthen, their attackers are good.
"Once you get at the Arsenal back four you can really cause them problems and that has been their problem for a while. You compare them to Liverpool, whose midfield three support the defence which consequently allows the front three to flourish.
"That’s the difference, working as a cohesive team unit with and without the ball. Lots of the big teams need quality defensive players and not just exciting attacking talent.
"They’re linked with Thomas Partey who is a good defensive midfield player with a lot of attributes that could really help Arsenal. He could be the solution they need to stop conceding so many goals, especially away from home."
