Former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon trusts Mikel Arteta’s efforts to add another playmaker before the summer transfer ends.
Creativity will be the key for Arsenal, said Lee Dixon the former Gunners defender. Subsequently, he believes that Mikel Arteta is looking to buy more players. The club is still hoping to transfer Houssem Aouar to their squad.
Negotiations with Aouar are still on-going with the Ligue 1 club. Although, Lyon hopes to gain some extra money from the sale of the France international.
While Arsenal refuses to give up on the top playmaker from Lyon, the club eyes for Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey. Dixon is convinced that the deals will be done before the end of the summer transfer.
The Gunners great told talkSPORT of Arteta’s efforts to reinforce his ranks: “I think he’s got his eye on a few more players. If he can get them over the line in the next week or so…
“I think a creative midfield player is key. When [Dani] Ceballos came on [against Liverpool] you could see the difference in that creative side of things.
“It’s so difficult to be under that sort of pressure for that amount of time against a brilliant pressing team. Then to go and play your football because you’re absolutely exhausted. We’ve all played against a team that suffocates you.
“So they need a little bit of creativity in midfield in order to get them out of those situations when they’ve been under pressure.”
Arsenal lost their away fixture against Liverpool at Anfield on Monday night. Even though, Dixon believes that the club will perform well under Arteta’s guidance in the upcoming games.
He added: “I think from Arsenal’s point of view, it’s a good reality check. Because it shows them how far they’ve got to go and how far they have come. That would have been a thumping under Unai Emery.
“I was sitting on the fence when Arteta got the job because it was his first job. Was it a bit too early in his learning curve? But what he’s doing at the club, what he’s doing to the players, what he’s doing on the training pitch. And how they’re responding. He’s turned some of them around and he’s got them playing in a way they all understand.
“Yes, there’s lots of improvements to be made. But they were playing against one of the best teams in the world.”
Arteta managed to achieve major silverware in a short time at Emirates. He won the FA Cup and Community Shield with the team. However, staying in the top four and fixing a Champions League spot remains the ultimate goal.
Quizzed on “realistic” ambitions for Arsenal in 2020-21, Dixon said: “There’s always the ambition to win a trophy. We did that last year and I think that’s always on the side burner.
“If you can have a good cup run, that’s great. And it builds confidence and it’s something tangible for people to look at and say: ‘Yes, we’ve won that’.
“We have to take into consideration the lack of pre-season and the unusual situation we find ourselves in. But I do feel Arteta will be looking at the top four, absolute minimum. He’s a very ambitious young manager.”
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