Arsenal and Manchester City take on in the semi-final of the FA Cup this weekend at Wembley and the Gunners go into this match as the clear underdogs.
Arsenal have beaten Liverpool in midweek but still, no one is giving them much of a chance at beating the Citizens which just goes on to show how far the Gunners are from challenging the big English clubs.
Mikel Arteta was brought in to revive the team but over the past couple of months, the progress have been really slow. And right now many people have are waiting eagerly for the summer transfer window so that the Gunners boss can bring in some new players for the upcoming season.
And speaking on this very same topic, pundit Paul Merson has claimed that even bag loads of money might not help the Gunners reach the top so early but they could start their revival by making one particular signing.
“Mikel Arteta has no chance of getting the money he needs out of Arsenal,” former Gunners star Merson wrote for the Daily Star. “They could spend £200m and still not make the Champions League next season because the gap is so big.
“They need a centre-back, a central midfielder and another striker. The whole spine of the team really.
“And I think he might go for John Stones at Manchester City. Pep Guardiola doesn’t seem to trust him, and Arteta has worked with him before. Arsenal need an out and out defender, not another David Luiz who knows how to play the ball out from the back but makes a lot of mistakes.
“But Stones is English, young enough to improve, and Arteta will know all about him and know he fits into the system.
“Arsenal beat Liverpool this week but how many chances did Jurgen Klopp’s have? They won the game because of a couple of mistakes.
“You don’t normally see Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson making mistakes like that and I expect City to beat them in the FA Cup semi-final. Arsenal have a chance because it’s a one-off game and anything can happen. If they defend like they did against Liverpool it could get interesting.
“But that’s the thing with Arsenal, you can’t rely on them to play with any consistency and they would have to get massively lucky to get to the final. Arteta said himself the gap to the top two is enormous and he’s dead right. Arsenal are a million miles away.
“If you look at the quality of City versus Liverpool and the North London Derby, it’s chalk and cheese really.”
John Stones has clearly fallen down the pecking order at Manchester City and Guardiola should have no issues in parting ways with him in the summer.
He is a player who Mikel Arteta knows very well from his time at the Etihad and the England international can be the perfect long-term replacement to someone like David Luiz.
Luiz might have gotten a new deal at the club but Arteta will not hesitate in dropping him to the bench if given the chance. And someone like John Stones will give the Gunners boss this perfect excuse.
