Garth Crooks insists Arsenal cannot win the title without a top-class natural finisher at centre-forward

Arsenal blew West Ham United out of the water on Sunday at London Stadium, strolling to a 6-0 victory to keep the pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool and Manchester City.

It was one of their best performers of the 2023-24 campaign and they proved once again why they are strong contenders for the title this term.

However, Garth Crooks is not convinced that Arsenal have what it takes to go one better after finishing second to Man City last term, claiming their lack of a quality number 9 could end up being their undoing.

“Meanwhile, as emphatic as their win was against the Hammers, Arsenal cannot win the title without a top-class natural finisher at centre-forward and they don’t have one,” the BBC wrote in his column.

With Gabriel Jesus out injured, Leandro Trossard led the line for the Gunners against the Hammers, while Eddie Nketiah came on to replace the Belgian in the second-half.

Bukayo Saka bagged his tenth league goal of the season in the 6-0 rout and is currently their highest goalscorer so far.

The England international was ruthless with his brace and will be desperate to keep getting the goals as Arsenal eye a first league title since 2004.

However, whether they can get the job done without a prolific number 9 indeed remains to be seen.

Their rivals for the title have strikers who are constantly finding the back of the net, which could make a huge difference as far as the title challenge goes.

Arsenal were linked with Brentford striker Ivan Toney in January but were unable to go after his services as they needed to keep in line with the Profit and Sustainability rules.

They are expected to pursue the services of the Englishman in the summer, and his addition will come in handy without a doubt.

Manager Mikel Arteta and his players will be desperate to prove everyone wrong, and the onus is on the players to step up and show that they can win the title without a top striker.