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Team needs: 3 more moves Arsenal should make in the transfer window

Ask any Arsenal supporter what the transfer window is like and prepare for a reaction of equal parts frustration and bewilderment. A club in part defined by a manager who refuses to splash the cash like some of his peers, this summer's window had the makings of something different.

Granit Xhaka was signed uncharacteristically early in the window, and the Gunners hopes were buoyed by a seemingly new era of productivity. Since then, unknown Japanese attacker Takuma Asano made the switch for a pittance, while a £2-million move for Bolton defender Rob Holding is all but done.

Hardly the blockbuster moves necessary to push last year's runner-up one step further. Here's a trio of areas Arsene Wenger would be wise to consider upgrades for, should he fancy seeing out his Arsenal tenure with a first league title since 2003-04.

Top-tier striker

Apologies to stately striker Olivier Giroud, but if Arsenal is to have serious title ambitions, a top-tier forward should be firmly atop the club's summer wish list.

With Danny Welbeck out until February recovering from knee surgery, Arsenal supporters are becoming anxious at the prospects of another underwhelming transfer period.

Hard not to feel aggrieved for Giroud, who has done all that's been asked of him since joining from Ligue 1 champ Montpellier ahead of the 2012-13 season. The French international has made no fewer than 27 Premier League appearances for the club in a season, scoring 57 times with 20 assists to average a goal in 42 percent of matches played.

Since his debut, Giroud has scored more headed goals (18) than any other player during the same spell.

Even with all the numbers that support Giroud's efforts, Arsenal was as limp in attack last season as it's been in years. The club's 65 league goals was the worst total since the 2006-07 campaign and was the second-worst during Wenger's 20-year tenure with the north Londoners.

For all of his virtues, Arsenal's finishing from close range was its undoing, and according to Opta's statistics, the title race could have shaped up differently had the Gunners netted their chances.

If one stat signals the need for a top-tier forward, its that one, prompting the club's alleged interest in Alvaro Morata. With Real Madrid buying the Spaniard back from Juventus, it's likely Arsenal will be priced out of a bid for the goal-scorer, shifting its interests elsewhere.

That leaves the likes of AC Milan's Carlos Bacca and Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette as possible options. Since Bacca, 29, is the same age as Giroud and Wenger typically avoids buying players on the cusp of their 30's, Lacazette, 25, appears the better choice. There's also Inter homewrecker Mauro Icardi.

No stranger to plucking Ligue 1's best, Wenger might be wise to table a bid for Les Gones' star striker. Since emerging as Lyon's top striker during the 2013-14 season, Lacazette has scored 61 times, amounting to a goal in 60 percent of matches played. If conversion rates are a premium, Wenger and co. would be wise to target Lacazette to avoid riots on the high streets of Islington.

Potential targets: Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon), Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan)

Centre-back

Considering there are inanimate objects with more pace than centre-back Per Mertesacker, Arsenal could do worse than to sign a marquee defender to spell relief for Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel.

Mertesacker's pace notwithstanding, Gabriel hasn't exactly inspired confidence among Arsenal supporters since joining from Villarreal in January 2015, and with a short temper matched only by his penchant for ill-timed tackles, the Brazilian is perpetually one step from disaster.

The World Cup-winning Hannover product isn't without virtue, and the angular defender - nicknamed "The BFG" - played a vital role in Arsenal leading the Premier League in aerial duels won (53.9 percent).

Against sides employing calculated, slow-paced tactics, Mertesacker has his value. That changes drastically against sides who exploit counter attacks. Leicester City mastered that art last season, and despite dropping both its fixtures against Arsenal for two of its three league losses, Jamie Vardy's goal in a 2-1 defeat at the King Power is evidence enough for Mertesacker's sluggish step.

Unlike the striker search of limited options, the continental centre-back cupboard is plentiful.

Potential targets: Fabian Schar (Hoffenheim), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Jason Denayer (Manchester City), Daniele Rugani (Juventus)

Right-wing

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joel Campbell, and Serge Gnabry. Three players with nary a role to play, and the right-wing position is a major question mark ahead of the 2016-17 campaign.

Add Aaron Ramsey to that mix, who is certain to start after a stellar Euros, but will likely be placed out wide on the right with the increasingly populated central midfield, and there are too many players, not enough spots. Ramsey, who like Alexis Sanchez, started nine matches on the right last season, is better suited elsewhere, but will get time on the right, making one, if not two of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Campbell, and Gnabry redundant.

Solution: Send Gnabry on loan again, but this time to a club who actually fancies him, and not anywhere within a 100 yards of Tony Pulis. Sell Campbell for £8 million-£11 million and wish him well as he's been a loyal servant to the club despite being bounced around like a rubber ball on cobblestone. That leaves Oxlade-Chamberlain, 22, who is coming off an underwhelming campaign marred with injury and inconsistency.

Too willing to give the ball away last season in a fashion similar to that disastrous moment against Monaco in the 2014-15 Champions League that gifted Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco the principality side's third in a 3-1 win, the Ox could yet have his bet footballing days ahead of him.

No stranger to loyalty, Wenger will likely give the Southampton product another shot, and there's no harm in having one of the league's fastest players on the ball coming off the bench.

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