Former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher has identified what Arsenal need to do if they want to emulate his old club and go from top-four finishers to title challengers.
The Gunners are in a similar position to that occupied by Liverpool in the early years of Jurgen Klopp's reign, and the pundit has suggested Mikel Arteta's men need to make similarly impressive additions to their squad during what promises to be a busy summer.
Arsenal are undoubtedly in the driving seat when it comes to Champions League qualifications, sitting in fourth spot with a game in hand or more on those below them. However, European football can take its strain on a squad, and Liverpool were able to deal with this by levelling up in a number of key areas - something Carragher thinks Arsenal will need to replicate.
"Arsenal need to get fourth, and when you're likening it to what Klopp did at Liverpool, Arsenal are at the stage where they haven't got a [Cristiano] Ronaldo. They haven't got a [Harry] Kane," Carragher told Gary Neville's The Overlap Live Fan Debate.
"The next two or three signings for Arsenal have to be Alisson, have to be [Virgil] Van Dijk, what they were for Liverpool. Where they take you from fighting for the top four, getting in the top four, to making that jump where you're competing with City, Liverpool, United, Chelsea.
"That's Arsenal's next thing. They need a really top centre-forward who can really take them up a level."
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In the 2017-18 season, when Liverpool signed Van Dijk in January, Jurgen Klopp's side finished fourth. They were a massive 25 points adrift of champions Manchester City, despite the arrival of their Dutch defender helping them make a run to the Champions League final.
Alisson followed that summer, replacing Loris Karius as Liverpool's first-choice keeper. By the end of the 2018-19 season, the gap to City was down to a single point, and one year later the Reds were crowned champions.
Arsenal were quiet in the January transfer window, despite being linked with a number of attacking options. The Gunners missed out on Dusan Vlahovic, with the Serbian international opting to join Juventus, while fellow targets Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Alexander Isak stayed put.
"We did what we believed was the right thing to do," Arteta said in February after making no immediate first team additions in January. American defender Auston Trusty was the only new signing, with the 23-year-old immediately rejoining former side Colorado Rapids on loan.
"The squad composition and contracts were catching up, be fair with players who haven't had a lot of minutes," the Arsenal manager continued. "We had a clear plan of what we can do but then it has to be doable."
The Overlap is a YouTube channel from Gary Neville in partnership with Sky Bet.
