Manchester United legend Gary Neville has urged Arsenal to try and bring in a central defender during the summer transfer window.
The north Londoners currently sit just one point behind Premier League leaders Manchester City, although Pep Guardiola's side have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta and co. The Gunners had been above City by eight points just over five weeks ago before a run of four winless games saw their title hopes derailed, in large part due to William Saliba's back injury.
In the 27 league fixtures that the French international started in, Arteta's men conceded just 25 times. But in the six games that Rob Holding took Saliba's place, Arsenal shipped 13 - illustrating just how vital the former Marseille loanee is to the way they set up their defence.
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On Sunday afternoon, former United right-back Neville took to social media to advise the Gunners to bring in a new centre-back recruit to ease Saliba of some of the defensive burden. "It's a big summer coming up at Arsenal with the CL next season", Neville wrote on Twitter.
"They haven’t looked the same without Saliba! Defensive back up needed."
The primary area Arteta wants to strengthen is in midfield and football.london understands that West Ham United captain Declan Rice is the Spaniard's primary target in this area. But Arsenal also want to strengthen in defence where football.london understands Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace is among the targets.
Guehi has established himself as one of the Premier League's most consistent defenders since joining Palace from Chelsea two years ago and the England international is still just 22 years old, certainly fitting the Gunners' transfer strategy when it comes to buying young players with high ceilings.
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