Arsenal given green light for Marcus Rashford deal, as Mikel Arteta admits weakness in his side: report

Arsenal’s hopes of winning their first Premier League title since the 2003/04 season suffered a significant blow at the weekend after they suffered a 2-1 defeat at title rivals Manchester City.

In the aftermath of the defeat which saw City move to within three points of the Gunners and open the door to Pep Guardiola’s side overhauling them if they defeat Burnley when they play their game-in-hand this week, Arteta admitted his side were not clincal enough.

“We could have been a bit more composed in certain moments but we certainly took the game to where we wanted and we had big chances to win,” he said following the Etihad defeat.

Arsenal told to go after Rashford

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As the dust settles on what could well be an extremely damaging defeat and Arteta’s assessment on it, attention will no doubt shift to how Arsenal will be able to ensure that they are not missing that cutting edge moving forwards.

The Gunners came into the current season on the back of another busy summer transfer window, which was headlined by the arrival of £55million striker Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting as the club looked to resolve their No.9 position.

The Swede has netted 12 Premier League goals in 31 appearances this term, but started on the bench at the Etihad, coming on for the final six minutes.

So do the Gunners need to address their attacking options again in the summer? Former Arsenal star Emmanuel Petit believes so and has a name for his old side to consider.

"I would love to see Marcus Rashford at Arsenal,” the Frenchman said via Andy’s Bet Club, as per the Express. “I think he'd have a big impact. What he has done at Barcelona, after he struggled for two or three seasons, has impressed me.

"The Rashford we know wasn't there for a while and everyone was criticising him, at Barcelona he has recovered his qualities.

"I was quite surprised that he didn't start in the Champions League second-leg against Atletico, although Raphinha has been very good for Barcelona, too.

"Robert Lewandowski, I was quite surprised that he was sitting on the bench for the two games. But coming back to Rashford, that could be something very good for Arsenal. He has something to prove coming back to England and they need wingers."

Rashford joined Barcelona on a season-long loan move from Manchester United in the summer after falling out of favour under former Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim, who was sacked in January. He has netted six goals and laid on eight assists in 26 La Liga appearances this season.

Barcelona reportedly have a £26million option to sign Rashford - who is valued at €40million by Transfermarkt - permanently in the summer, but after a recent dip in form this move appears less likely. In FourFourTwo’s view, while a pricetag in that region is tempting, Rashford is not the out-and-out No.9 that Arsenal should be targeting this summer.