Unai Emery faces a big summer as Arsenal head coach.
Many have had their say on what additions the Spaniard must make to his squad, but much depends on what competition the Gunners are playing in next season and that will impact his transfer budget.
Signing five players last summer, the club are once again expected to bring in a couple of new additions but they will have to work their magic with a reported summer budget of around £40million.
The nightmare Europa League scenario that awaits Arsenal or Man United if they finish sixth
Offloading players would give Emery a bit more money to spend and former Tottenham Hotspur player and coach Tim Sherwood has indentified the two signings the Spaniard must make.
"I think it’s going to take time. It’s not going to be overnight," he told Premier League Productions, as per the Express. "He’s obviously lost Sven Mislintat as well, who was the sporting director there.
"They’re going to have to find somebody who is going to be head of their recruitment. I’m sure if they trust Unai Emery they’re going to let him bring that man in, someone who is the eyes for him.
"It’s not always about how you spend, it’s about what you spend it on. Someone’s got to fit in. To improve what they have at the moment in central defence I would suggest it won’t cost you too much money. They’re not good enough.
"The defenders they’ve got are so bad, I don’t think you’ll have to look far.
"[Shane] Duffy, [Lewis] Dunk, improves them straight away for not a lot of money. And gettable, realistic, you go to Brighton and say, ‘There’s £50million for the pair of your centre backs.’
"The money you’d have to pay them would fit easily into Arsenal’s budget, Arsenal straight away would be improved next season.
"There’s two guys there who love defending, want to defend and first and foremost, not interested in self indulgence and how they’re going to look themselves.
"They love defending.
"That’s what Arsenal miss. Get that foundation, get that solid base, they’ve got the players at the top end of the field who can hurt any team in the Premier League. You’re halfway there.
"That’s just an example. There’s other guys out there who are capable of improving them because what they’ve got at the moment is well below par."
Arsenal midfielder revealed as the second most valuable young player in Europe
Emery would have got a first-hand viewing of the Brighton pair at the weekend, a game which saw the Gunners conceded their 10th goal in the last four Premier League outings.
Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android .
Available to download from the App Store and Google Play .
