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Arsenal are standing on the brink of an unprecedented season.
With Premier League and European supremacy just two matches away, this could go down as the greatest campaign in the club’s stories history, or another classic case of missed opportunities.
For Ray Parlour, who was a key man in Arsenal’s last great side – the Invincibles, who went the entire 2003-04 Premier League season undefeated en route to lifting the title – his former club will look back on missed opportunities should they fail to get both trophies over the line.
‘Gyokeres has had ups and downs but he’s done OK’ Ray Parlour believes Arsenal will need to make improvements this summer whatever happens
Parlour’s focus was largely on recruitment and, in particular, striker Viktor Gyokeres, who was signed for huge money last summer.
“Gyokeres has had ups and downs during this season, there's no doubt about that,” Parlous tells FFT on behalf of 10bet, who offer a variety of live betting. “Obviously, the big plus he had was scoring two against Spurs at the Tottenham Stadium – fantastic goals.
“But I think he's really gotten better, and I think the fans are really now looking at him and saying, ‘Well, look at his work.’ Especially in Europe, I thought against Atletico Madrid, he was outstanding. They just couldn't handle the power he had and the way he turns defenders.”
“Sometimes you've got to play to his strengths a little bit more. They seem to play from the back too often; maybe just go a little bit quicker, back to front, which might suit him a little bit more as well. But it's his first season.
“He's come from Sporting Lisbon – not disrespecting the Portuguese League, but it's a lot easier to score goals in Portugal than it is in the Premier League. So give him the benefit of the doubt this season, and let's see how he goes next season.
“Hopefully, he's getting the hang of it now and he's going to get better. He's going to learn more about his teammates and what they're going to do as well. He's done okay, I would say.”
Parlour wants to see fresh blood added to the squad next term, to ensure the title race doesn’t have to go down to the wire as it has done this term.
“It all depends on who leaves,” he says. “There'd be a couple of players leaving, I'm sure. You know, that left-hand side would be interesting. See what Trossard does and or Martinelli. So maybe there's an opportunity there on the left-hand side of midfield. I've always said, if West Ham do go down, you go for Bowen. I don't know if he can play that side.
“And striker, really. You could argue right-back, because Timber's been out for a lot of the season this year: he can play, he’s probably the best right back in the Premier League when he’s fit, but he’s missed so many games.
“We don't know what Ben White's going to be doing in the future, but I think the striker, if you look at it, you need backup. When I played, you had four top strikers: Dennis Bergkamp, Nwankwo Kanu, Wiltord, one year we even had Francis Jeffers. I think you've got to have that, where you can mix it up a little bit. Jesus looks like he probably will be leaving. The striker position is the most important place to strengthen next year.”
