Thierry Henry: ‘Arsenal need four signings to compete with Chelsea next season

When Thierry Henry told the world that he doubted his former club Arsenal could challenge for the Premier League without a quality striker, aside from a jibe at the expense of Olivier Giroud he may have been correct.

“We have a defence that plays high on the pitch so we need a team who all does the defensive job, and I think we did well on that previous year, and we will do it again this season”.

‘I compare it to my generation – I knew, for example, when I first arrived at Arsenal that if I was not performing after an hour, Dennis Bergkamp was on the bench sometimes or Kanu or Sylvain Wiltord or Davor Suker. So I have more experience, I know my team mates, I know the club and I feel good with Arsenal.

Arsenal’s strikers Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck, however, scored a combined 18 goals in 52 appearances, a number that will have to improve if they want to challenge the likes of Chelsea and the two teams from Manchester.

While the Gunners finished in third place, they were still 12 points behind the Blues.

The Frenchman’s comments will surely boost the confidence of Walcott, who is yet to sign a new contract to remain in North London (Daily Star), as he has repeatedly stated a desire to get more playing time in the striker’s role.

Although they have not met Henry’s ideal quota, Arsenal have made one signing. Yet Arsenal saw the season out with just one win in their last four matches, per Soccerway.

This is where Chelsea excelled last season and where Jose Mourinho shows his class in general. They showed towards the end of last season, how effective and flamboyant they can be when all the key players are fully fit, which led many to question, what could have been had Arsene managed to keep all the key-players fit for the duration of the campaign. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was effective. Like the capture of Petr Cech, adding proven winners must be the manager’s main priority.