Arsenal's Title Defense: Merson's £190m Vision for Elite Attackers
Paul Merson has no doubts about where the Premier League title is heading next season. In his eyes, it stays in north London. But if Arsenal want to plant their flag on Europe as well, he believes Mikel Arteta must go big – £190m big – on two elite attackers and be prepared to make at least one ruthless call on a fan favourite.
Arsenal champions – but not yet complete
Arsenal finally climbed the mountain last season, ending a 22-year wait for the title and turning the red half of north London into a rolling street party. After three seasons of near misses under Arteta, they didn’t just edge over the line; they looked like a side built to stay at the top.
Yet the campaign still finished with a sting. Paris Saint-Germain denied them in the Champions League final. The Carabao Cup slipped away as well. A great season, yes. An era-defining one? Not quite.
Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta are already working to change that. The plan is clear: upgrade the attack, sharpen the edge, and turn domestic dominance into something more.
Merson’s £190m vision: Alvarez and Doué
Arsenal’s recruitment team have been tracking left-sided wingers and a new centre-forward. Among the names at the top of the list is Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez, rated around €120m and expected to move this summer. TEAMtalk sources say he has made it known he wants Barcelona above all, but Merson would still push hard.
Speaking on the Sports Agents podcast, he laid out his dream double deal: Alvarez and PSG’s Desire Doué.
“What Arsenal have done is amazing, but they’ve got to go out now, for me, and buy that real, real… You know, I think Doué as well at PSG,” Merson said. “I would like a Doué and an Alvarez, and if they got them, then wow – I dread to think who’s going to stop Arsenal!”
Two marquee signings, roughly £190m between them, to turn a title-winning side into a juggernaut. That’s the scale of the step he believes Arsenal must take if they want to rule Europe.
The Odegaard dilemma
Big spending usually comes with a bill, and Merson suspects Arsenal may have to pay it by sacrificing one of their crown jewels.
Discussing captain Martin Odegaard, he didn’t hide his discomfort with the idea but still raised it as a live question.
“It’s madness for me to be saying this, but they probably will be thinking about that [selling Odegaard],” he admitted. He also stressed that interest in the Norwegian would be huge: “I still think there’ll be teams queuing round the block for him… When you play in the position that Odegaard plays in, you’re screaming out for pace up front. You have to have pace.”
For Merson, the debate isn’t about Odegaard’s quality. It’s about profile and balance. The way he sees it, the No 10’s brilliance needs an explosive runner ahead of him. Without that, the attack never quite hits top speed.
Those close to Arsenal insist Arteta doesn’t share the idea of cashing in. The club want to keep their captain and are working to tie him to a new long-term deal at the Emirates, with plans around his future already mapped out earlier this year. But the mere fact that a club legend like Merson is floating the possibility underlines the scale of the decisions facing the champions.
“Sevens and eights” – but missing the killer
Merson has no doubt about the base Arsenal have built.
“I’d be shocked if Arsenal went away. I just think Arsenal are a proper solid, solid football team with solid seven, eight out of 10 players, week in, week out,” he said. “Across the board, sevens and eights.”
That consistency won them the league. It also kept them in every big game, right up to the Champions League final.
Merson still can’t quite shake the feeling of what might have been in that showpiece. “If they’d have held on, didn’t give away the penalty and won 1-0, we’d be sitting here now saying it’s a masterclass of all masterclasses,” he reflected.
The margins were tiny. The conclusion, in his mind, is not.
“They’re screaming out for a centre forward with pace,” he insisted. “I think if they can get a centre forward with pace, who’s electric, then I think they’ll dominate, and I think they’ve got every chance of the Champions League next year.”
That is the heart of his argument: Arsenal are good enough to win titles with what they have. To dominate England and Europe, they need a striker who terrifies defenders on the turn and a wide forward who can rip games open from the left.
A £100m wing solution?
Out wide, Arsenal have already identified one Premier League star as a serious target. Those close to the situation say the club have taken a strong shine to the player, but his current side are determined to keep him and would likely demand around £100m.
That sort of fee, plus the numbers involved in any move for Alvarez and Doué, explains why Merson talks about “tough choices”. Arsenal can’t buy everyone. They may not even land their top targets, especially with Alvarez leaning towards Barcelona.
What they can do is stay ruthless and ambitious. They are champions again, finally, but the market will ask them a brutal question this summer: are they content with being very good, or are they willing to risk a little comfort to become untouchable?
