Graeme Souness says Arsenal should be trying to sign Gareth Bale

Follow us on Google Discover

Arsenal realistically stand no chance of luring the former Tottenham ace.

Graeme Souness

Former manager and player Graeme Souness has told The Sunday Times that Arsenal should be trying to sign Gareth Bale.

The Gunners face a critical summer with or without Arsene Wenger as they seek to re-establish themselves as challengers for the Premier League title.

Souness, a regular pundit for SkySports, believes Wenger should stand down and cites their inability to compete for the very top players as reason for him to do so.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

He said: “Arsenal should be looking at the likes of Griezmann and Bale, too, but they will not be. Over the past decade their recruitment has simply not been good enough, which is one of the main reasons Wenger should step aside.

“Arsenal are not quite prepared to pay the going rate for the very top players. Instead, they have been buying in that £30-45m bracket for players such as Mesut Ozil, Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi, and it has not happened for them.”

Souness went onto comment that he believes Arsenal should not push the boat out to re-sign Mesut Ozil this summer, with the playmaker yet to commit to a new deal at the club.

Zero chance of signing Bale?

There is a good reason, cost aside, why Arsenal have no chance of signing Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale.

Prior to signing with the La Liga giants, Bale featured for Arsenal’s bitter North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, where he was a hero at the club.

Gareth Bale unveiled by Real Madrid

Despite the drawn out saga of his departure, Bale remains held in high regard at Spurs and still has a good relationship with the club.

He would not be interested in jeopardising that to join Arsenal, especially in their current predicament.

Souness wants Arsenal to spend big on the world’s top players, but it could be too little too late if they miss out on Champions League football.

They have had the window to do so in recent seasons and have failed to do so, and without the Champions League to offer, they will find it tough to attract the elite.