William Gallas has urged Arsenal to sign Victor Osimhen this summer but fears Mikel Arteta lacks the personality to manage him.
Arsenal’s bid for the Premier League title has floundered since the turn of the year as a consequence of the injury crisis that has robbed them of a natural goalscorer.
With Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus suffering season ending injuries, Arteta has been forced to deploy Mikel Merino as a makeshift centre forward with mixed results.
With Bukayo Saka also absent since November, it is little surprise that Arsenal have found goals so hard to come by in recent weeks.
The Gunners are expected to invest heavily in their forward line over the summer with the likes of Alexander Isak and Benjamin Sesko at the very top of the club’s wishlist.
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Gallas, however, believes Osimhen, a long-term target of Chelsea’s, would represent an equally shrewd investment but fears Arteta lacks the man management skills to bring out the best in a player who is currently on loan from Napoli at Galatasaray.
‘Osimhen would be the man I would try and sign,’ Gallas told Prime Casino. ‘He’s been performing well for Galatasaray, obviously on loan from Napoli, and he’s only going to be there for a season.
‘He’s a good player. Maybe not the player, but maybe he can score 20 a season. But if he doesn’t, he gives you movement, he gives space for the second forward to exploit and score goals.
‘He takes the focus of defenders, so he could play with Kai Havertz or another striker. He will be a little bit more free and then he can score goals for the club. So that’s why a striker like him would be good for Arsenal.
‘I was talking about this many years ago. He was too good, I think, to go to Galatasaray. I’m still saying the same thing. I know the club’s fans are going to be on my back again.’
Arteta has a record of discarding maverick personalities with the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil the highest-profile casualties of his no-nonsense regime.
And Gallas fears Osimhen could be too charismatic a person to thrive under Arteta adding: ‘Maybe Mikel Arteta doesn’t have the personality to manage players like Osimhen or to deal with players with personality.
‘Big managers like Klopp, Guardiola, Ancelotti, Mourinho and Ferguson. Even Arsene, he had the personality of being our friend, but he knew how to speak to players. You have to know how to speak to your players.
‘It doesn’t mean you’re going to have arguments. You have to know how to deal with them, that’s all.’
