Selling Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Alexandre Lacazette would be “disastrous” for Arsenal, says club legend Ian Wright.
Two prolific strikers have started to generate unwelcome transfer talk in north London.
Manchester United, seven years on from luring Robin van Persie away from Emirates Stadium, have been linked with a shock swoop for Gabonese goal-getter Aubameyang.
Lacazette, meanwhile, is said to be attracting admiring glances from Spain, with the France international having previously been mentioned as a possible target for Barcelona.
Arsenal are understandably reluctant to part with either of their prized frontmen.
Wright hopes that stance will be enough to fend off any suitors, with the iconic former forward telling the South China Morning Post of the exit rumours: “Hopefully that doesn’t happen because that would be disastrous.”
Aubameyang claimed a share of the Premier League Golden Boot in 2018-19 with 22 goals in the English top flight, while Lacazette weighed in with 19 across all competitions.
Rather than consider moving either of them on, Wright wants to see Arsenal bring in more quality options to complement those already on their books.
Getty/GoalCrystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has emerged as a top target for the Gunners.
They are considered to be a long way short of meeting the Eagles’ valuation of the Ivory Coast international, but further discussions have been mooted.
Wright believes Zaha would be a useful addition, while he also wants to see Emery’s squad strengthened from back to front.
He added: “We’re trying to get Wilfried Zaha, which would be magnificent.
“You want competition for places.
“Defensively, I think everyone can agree, we need some strength in there.
“You can always strengthen in the midfield. Aaron Ramsey’s gone. We need that midfielder who is going to join the front guys and try to contribute with goals.
“Goals are a premium so you always want to be linked with a striker that might be able to come and help.”
Sources close to talks have revealed that Saint-Etienne defender William Saliba is among those to be registering on Arsenal’s radar, while Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Fraser has been heavily linked with a move to north London.