Wayne Rooney reckons Arsenal should target Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in the summer amid interest from Man Utd.
The Gunners and the Red Devils showed on Sunday that they are both lacking a proven centre-forward with the two sides playing out a 1-1 draw in the Premier League.
Arsenal have been plagued by injuries in attacking areas in recent months with Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli all missing, although Martinelli made a subsitute appearance against Man Utd on Sunday.
Even when they were all fit there were still calls for Arsenal to bring in a new goalscoring centre-forward to decide tight games and finally get them over the line in the Premier League title race.
However, it looks like the Gunners will once again finish as runners-up in the Premier League for the third season running after leaders Liverpool went 15 points clear over the weekend.
And Rooney reckons a player like Crystal Palace striker Mateta – who has contributed 15 goals and three assists in 33 matches in all competitions this season – would be perfect for Mikel Arteta’s side as they need someone to get on the end of all the dangerous balls they put into the box.
Rooney told BBC Sport: “Jean-Philippe Mateta is a big, strong lad who scores a lot of goals.
“From watching Arsenal over the past few games in the Premier League, they have put a lot of balls into the box without having anyone to get on the end of them. I am sure he would help from that point of view.”
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A report last week claimed that Man Utd had made Mateta a ‘major target’ ahead of the summer transfer window after giving up on Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Arsenal dominated possession against Man Utd but both sides had enough chances to win the match and Arteta was disappointed not to win at Old Trafford.
Arteta said: “Very frustrating we haven’t won with the dominance and the chances we had in the first half.
“Then we gave the ball away out of nothing. Gave a foul away. We had them in the second half, you could feel they were really fatigued.
“It was the threat in the final 25 metres to make something happen. They didn’t want to play. You come here and you want to win the game. Today, it is frustration.”
When he was pressed on his team’s struggles in the final third, Arteta added: “Sometimes that is what is missing. The execution has to be in to the right player and the right player to shoot.
“How we conceded [chances] in certain moments was not acceptable. They have so much quality and they pick the right player and normally that would end in a goal.
“We opened the gate to lose the game. there was no chance to lose the game and we opened it ourselves. I will defend my players all the time but in those moments we have to do better.”
