Arsenal making Ipswich Town's Liam Delap their marquee striker signing this summer would not "go down brilliantly" with the majority of supporters, Gunners expert Charles Watts believes.
Mikel Arteta's side collide with Delap's Tractor Boys in Sunday's Premier League game at Portman Road amid intense speculation surrounding the future of the 22-year-old, who is expected to be on the move this summer.
Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has recommended the Gunners try to sign Delap as one of two strikers in the upcoming transfer window, where he could leave for just £30m if Ipswich are relegated due to a clause in his contract.
However, Arsenal have never been properly linked with a move for Delap - Manchester United and Chelsea appear to be the frontrunners - and Watts cannot see the Gunners heeding Parlour's advice.
"They need to push the boat out for the more established centre forward," he told Sports Mole. "Delap's had a really good season. He's clearly talented and going to get a big move this summer. I just don't think he is the right sort of guy that Arsenal need.
"They've waited a long, long time for this striker signing, and through no fault of his own, if it's Liam Delap after all of this time, that I don't think that would go down brilliantly with the majority of the fan base.
Delap not the "right sort of guy" for Arsenal
"That would immediately put Delap under a bit of pressure as well, which is not what you really want for a young kid coming into a big club on big money. So, no, I think he'll get a big move, but I don't think it'll be to Arsenal."
A striker-less Arsenal square up to Delap and co knowing that their Premier League title could officially be over this weekend, as they travel to East Anglia 13 points behind Liverpool with just six games remaining.
If the Gunners lose at Portman Road and Liverpool overcome Leicester City later in the day, the Reds will be crowned champions with five games to spare, although Arsenal were realistically eliminated from the title race several weeks ago.
Instead, Arteta's men will be prioritising an elusive Champions League title after a fabulous 5-1 aggregate win over Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, completing the job with a stellar 2-1 success at the Bernabeu in Wednesday's second leg.
After the highs of that Madrid masterclass, Watts believes that Sunday's game will be a reality check for Gooners, although he is optimistic that a rotated side can capitalise on Ipswich's defensive frailties.
"It's tough to get up for this one," Watts added. "If the players are feeling like I'm feeling, and I didn't run around for 90 minutes at the Bernabeu, but I'm absolutely shattered after flying over to Madrid and experiencing that emotionally and mentally as well!
Watts warns of "pretty underwhelming" Arsenal display vs. Ipswich
"It's going to be very hard, I think, the Premier League games remaining, because the Champions League is just hanging over it all. It'll be interesting to see what Arteta does in terms of team selection. There's a lot of tired players in there. Saka could barely walk as he hobbled off the pitch at the Bernabeu. He'd run himself into the ground.
"Declan Rice, I don't know how he even gets out of bed in the morning after a performance like that. So I think there will be changes. After the Lord's Mayor show, I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see a pretty underwhelming Arsenal performance.
"I don't think anyone will be too overly bothered by it either. I think everyone accepts it now. The title's long gone, that happened a long time ago. It's just all about the Champions League. That is the priority.
"Ipswich do give teams opportunities. We've seen that. They concede a lot of goals at home as well. So hopefully that will play into Arsenal's hands and whoever plays, whether it be Nwaneri on the right, Trossard comes into the starting XI, they're going to get opportunities to score and hopefully take them."
While Arsenal could lose the title and Ipswich could be relegated at Portman Road on Easter Sunday, the Gunners may also find themselves looking over their shoulder in the race for Champions League football.
Arteta's men are five points clear of Manchester City after Pep Guardiola's side conquered Everton 2-0 on Saturday, while Newcastle United and Aston Villa are just four and six points worse off respectively, albeit having played an extra game.
Is Arsenal's top-five place under threat?
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest will only be three points behind Arsenal if the Gunners lose and the Tricky Trees overcome Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night, while Chelsea are nine points behind but are not mathematically out of the question either.
However, even though the Champions League is now Arsenal's main concern, Watts is not worried about the prospect of the Gunners losing their spot in the top five of the Premier League table, and he would happily accept ceding second place if his side are crowned champions of Europe.
"They'll have enough," he affirmed. "I couldn't say for sure if they'll finish second because Newcastle got all the momentum and Arsenal have these Champions League games which have to take preference. The grand scheme of things, does it matter if you finish second or third or fourth?
"Obviously you want to finish as high as you possibly can and it'd be good to finish second. But it's really not going to make too much of an impact. If you win the Champions League this season, will you even remember where you finished in the league? No."
Arsenal have not lost any of their previous 11 Premier League contests against Ipswich, who have never faced another team as many times in the competition without ever winning, and the Gunners have to go back to 1984 for the last time they were beaten by the Tractor Boys in the league.
Arteta provided a triple injury update in Friday's pre-game press conference, while also delivering the latest on Thomas Partey's contract situation ahead of the expiry of his current deal in June. body check tags ::
