Former Premier League striker Alan Shearer has said that he thinks Arsenal need a striker following the Gunners loss against Manchester United. 

The Gunners lost after a 1-1 draw against United which went to penalties in the FA Cup third round, meaning that Mikel Arteta‘s side have lost the chance to win the trophy for the second time under Arteta.

Arsenal had 26 shots during the match, however only seven of them hit the target, raising further questions about the fact that the Gunners are yet to sign a striker this season.

Shearer believes that Arteta made a “huge gamble” by not adding a new number nine in the summer window, and believes that it would help Arsenal to sign a top-level striker in January.

He said on The Rest is Football Podcast: “They [Arsenal] just didn’t have the ability or the killer instinct to put the ball away. I mean, they had, what, four, maybe five, really, really good chances that should have been in the back of the net, but for good goal keeping and really poor finishing, then they would have been in the next round.

“I said at the beginning of the season, I felt as if they needed a striker to go to the next level, and that’s looking as if that’s going to be the case. He’s [Arteta] taking a huge gamble and not improving in that position.”

Arsenal linked with several top strikers

It is never easy for a Premier League team to sign a world-class striker in the January window, due to the fact that many teams will want to keep hold of their top players until the summer.

Arsenal have been linked with Newcastle striker Alexander Isak, who will reportedly cost £115m, a price that the Gunners cannot afford.

Furthermore, they have also been linked with Juventus man Dusan Vlahovic, but it is unlikely that the Italian side will want to sell him in the middle of the season, unless they get a replacement in return such as Gabriel Jesus.