Robert Pires is adamant that Arsenal will lift the Premier League title if they sign Kylian Mbappe or Alexandre Lacazette – and keep hold of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.
Pires’ comments come after the report in the Telegraph which claimed that Ligue 1 champions Monaco had rejected a £87million offer from the North London side for the 18-year-old striker.
The same newspaper also reported that French outfit Lyon have told the Gunners to splash the cash and pay £50million in order to secure the signature of Lacazette this summer.
Speaking at the launch of Arsenal’s new kit, as quoted in the Evening Standard, Pires believes that Arsenal must sign one of the two French strikers and keep Sanchez and Ozil at the club in order to clinch the league title next season.
“The most important thing is to keep Sanchez and Ozil and if they buy Lacazette and Mbappe,” he said.
“Arsenal can do both – they can extend the contracts of Sanchez and Ozil and why not buy two or three players?
“If Arsene buys some players they can lift the Premier League trophy.”
Both Ozil and Sanchez have still not put pen to paper on new deals at the Emirates Stadium with a number of top European side reportedly interested in both players.
Pires was a key member of the last Arsenal team to win the Premier League during the 2003-04 season when the Gunners went through the entire league campaign without a defeat.
Since then, the North London club have been unable to mount a serious title challenge, and last season was the first time that they finished outside the top four under the guidance of manager Arsene Wenger.