Mikel Arteta has led Arsenal to second in the Premier League in the last two seasons (Picture: Getty)
Tony Adams says there have been real signs of ‘progression’ at Arsenal under Mikel Arteta and believes the club should look to further strengthen with signings at left-back and up front this summer.
Arsenal ensured the Premier League title race went down to the wire last season, but finished as runners-up behind Manchester City for a second year on the bounce, ultimately ending another campaign trophyless.
It means the Gunners have failed to pick up any silverware – other than two Community Shield wins – since as far back as 2020, when Arteta steered his side to FA Cup glory in his first year as head coach.
However, Arteta continues to receive widespread praise for the progress he has overseen at the Emirates and it’s understood Arsenal are preparing to offer the Spaniard a bumper new contract to prevent his head from being turned.
In a recent interview with CNN, the Arsenal manager claimed the uncertainty over his future only gave him more ‘hunger’ to succeed during his time in north London, with just a year remaining on his current deal.
And former captain Adams made his stance abundantly clear when asked whether he agreed with Arsenal’s plans to offer Arteta an extension, telling Sky Sports: ‘Absolutely!
‘There’s progression even though he’s not won a trophy here for four years.
Ex-Arsenal skipper Adams believes there is still room for improvement in Arteta’s squad (Picture: Getty)
‘I’m all about getting over the line and whatever competition you’re playing up against, whether it be Man City or whoever it is.
‘You’ve got to beat them, you’ve got to go across that line, so well done and let’s go forward again.
‘Let’s progress on that and see what areas of the pitch you can [improve].’
Havertz impressed through the middle for Arsenal last season (Picture: Getty)
The legendary ex-England centre-back – a two-time Premier League winner with Arsenal – identified the ‘two areas’ where he feels the club can improve ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
‘For me, maybe he needs a centre-forward still, maybe he needs someone in there. [Kai] Havertz had an unbelievable season. Can he do it again? Don’t know. Gabriel Jesus? Not sure,’ he added.
‘Left-back also, we’re going to have to look at Timber maybe. He maybe goes in at the left-back spot and does a job for us next year.
‘They are the two areas that I can see where you can actually improve this team and this squad.’
Rice enjoyed a superb debut season with the Gunners (Picture: Getty)
Adams reserved special praise for Declan Rice on the back of the midfielder’s ‘outstanding’ debut season with Arsenal.
‘The Gunners pushed Manchester City every step of the way and they should be really proud of themselves,’ he continued.
‘Declan Rice, in particular, had an outstanding first season for us and the progression over the last couple of years, it’s been great.
‘I looked at Arteta and I’m thinking, “Is there anything that he did wrong?”, and I can honestly say that he actually nailed it… timing, selections, rotation, going up to Manchester City and getting a 0-0 draw.
‘I was the only person screaming from the rooftops, I think, going, “Well done, boring game, got a point, move on”… the likelihood is that if we beat them then we could have won the league but there we go, that’s Arteta and that’s me.’
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