Arsenal legend Nigel Winterburn cannot envisage his former side bringing in two strikers to aid their Premier League title charge for 2025-26, unlike a fellow Gunners great.
Mikel Arteta's team have held off on splashing the cash on a new centre-forward for a couple of years, but this summer should finally be the one where the Gunners welcome a new number nine to the club.
Winterburn's ex-Arsenal teammate Ray Parlour recently suggested that the North London giants could even try for two strikers this summer, while also name-checking Ipswich Town's Liam Delap as an option that the Gunners should pursue.
However, speaking exclusively to Sports Mole, Winterburn - a three-time English top-flight title winner - shot down the notion that Arsenal could bring in more than one centre-forward and also suggested that Delap may opt for a team where he is guaranteed weekly starts.
"I don't see them bringing in two strikers," Winterburn said. "My gut feeling is they'll potentially look for a main striker. But you can never try and second-guess Mikel Arteta, the coaching staff. You never know quite what's going to happen.
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"You've got to look from Delap's situation, I'm going to come in but I'm not going to play all the time. If another club comes calling and says, you've got to start for us a lot, it's such a difficult call to make.
"I suppose potentially it could work. But again, we're trying to make predictions of what our club is going to do in terms of the coaching staff and the new sporting director. I think it's so, so difficult.
"But I think it's clear that all the links, it may come to fruition that we will get a new striker. But whether it be someone for 40 or whether it should be someone for 100 plus, I simply don't have the answer."
Manchester United and Chelsea appear to be the frontrunners for Delap at present, but Arsenal are not short of striker targets for the summer window, which will be Andrea Berta's first as sporting director since replacing Edu.
The former Atletico Madrid chief's arrival has coincided with Arsenal apparently stepping up their interest in Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres, whom Berta was keen to bring to the Spanish capital while working for Diego Simeone's team.
Arsenal may supposedly have to win an 'auction' to sign Gyokeres, but he would still prove to be a cheaper buy than Newcastle United's Alexander Isak, as would towering RB Leipzig frontman Benjamin Sesko.
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However, neither Gyokeres nor Sesko have played in England's top flight, which Winterburn highlighted as a crucial factor, adding: "You're always looking for players that potentially played in the Premier League because you know that they can play at that level.
"So that would be Isak, but Newcastle are obviously going to try and do everything they can to keep him. Depends who else comes calling. They're talking 125, 150 million? I personally don't see Arsenal paying that. I could be completely wrong. You hear it bandied around, but you don't actually know.
"Gyokeres has developed very, very strongly over the last two or three seasons. He was at Coventry, which is my hometown team, so I've seen bits of him play. Sesko has been mentioned. For me, I'll just wait and see what happens. See if we get someone in. I'm sure we will.
"And then my only focus will be, can they deliver the goals to elevate us to go on to a Premier League title? Because I think that is the next step that Arsenal need, for this young team to win a trophy."
While Arsenal are almost certainly resigned to another second-placed finish in the Premier League, the Gunners have a magnificent chance to reach the Champions League semi-finals ahead of Wednesday's quarter-final second leg with Real Madrid, whom they trounced 3-0 at the Emirates last week.
Nigel Winterburn was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of BetMGM UK. body check tags ::
