KEY POINTS

  • Arsenal have had a bid turned down by Lyon for striker Alexandre Lacazette.
  • Arsenal have signed Granit Xhaka, Rob Holding and Takuma Asano thus far this summer.

Arsene Wenger has reiterated his desire to sign an attacking player before the end of the summer transfer window. The Arsenal manager is keen to bolster his forward line with Olivier Giroud the only recognised striker in the first-team.

Follow the latest Premier League ins and outs on our dedicated summer transfer page

The French manager oversaw his team's 2-1 win over the MLS All Stars on Thursday (28 July) in their first friendly match of the ongoing tour of the United States. Theo Walcott started upfront for the Gunners, but was poor in his finishing and decision-making despite being handed more than one clear cut chance, the Englishman was replaced just after the hour mark by Chuba Akpom, who scored the winner after Joel Campbell's opener was cancelled by Arsenal's old nemesis Didier Drogba.

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Wenger does have attacking options, in the form of Alex Iwobi, Alexis Sanchez and Campbell, but lacks a proper No 9, which has harmed the north London club's title challenges in recent seasons. The manager admitted that a lack of goals in the second-half of last season was one of the main reasons for Arsenal failing to challenge Leicester City for the Premier League title and is keen to right that wrong before the start of the season.

Granit Xhaka
Granit Xhaka made his debut for Arsenal during their 2-1 win over the MLS All Stars Getty

"At the moment, I do not have too many attacking options. Let's not forget that there are still a few players at home, and that a few players didn't play today, like Cazorla. Then of course you have Ozil and Ramsey at home, even Giroud is not here. We have options, but we still look outside to find one more," Wenger said, following the team's 2-1 win over the MLS All Stars, as quoted on Arsenal's official site.

Arsenal have been linked to a number of forwards this summer, and failed in their bid to lure Jamie Vardy from Leicester after the striker rejected a chance to move to the Emirates Stadium. Gonzalo Higuain was also linked before he completed a move to Juventus, while Alexandre Lacazette's name has been mentioned frequently in recent days with Lyon confirming that they had turned down a bid from the Gunners.

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