Arsenal legend Pires says Gunners have firepower for Premier League title push, ahead of side’s crucial Burnley test
- Arsenal go to Turf Moor on back of 6-0 thrashing of West Ham United, a game in which five different players scored
- Boss Mikel Arteta only has two recognised strikers in his squad, and has relied on the likes of Leandro Trossard to lead the attack
Arsenal legend Robert Pires said his former club had the firepower to sustain a Premier League title charge, as the striker-light Gunners prepare for a critical trip to relegation-threatened Burnley on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta has only two recognised centre-forwards in Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah, and following an injury for Brazilian Jesus, the manager has asked either Leandro Trossard, or the much-maligned Kai Havertz, to operate as a ‘false nine’.
Midfielder Havertz, signed from Chelsea last summer, led the line in a vital victory over Liverpool this month, and for last Sunday’s 6-0 trouncing of West Ham, when Arsenal had five different goalscorers, it was diminutive Belgian Trossard operating at the tip of a fluid attack.
Arsenal are two points behind leaders Liverpool, and level with Manchester City, who have played a game less, and cannot afford to slip up at Turf Moor this weekend.
“People said Arsenal should have signed a striker [last summer, and again in January], but I do not agree,” Pires told the Post.