Former Arsenal man Charlie Nicholas has urged Arsene Wenger to sign two players and hopes one of them will be Raphael Varane.

The Real Madrid defender is highly regarded in the game and Arsene Wenger is known to be a huge admirer of the young player and is already believed to have tried to sign him.

Speaking to Skysports over the weekend, the pundit suggested that Arsenal need to add a defender and a midfielder to their ranks if they are to challenge Chelsea next season, while many who have been paying attention would probably suggest that keeping the players they have already at the club fit for most of the season would probably be a bigger priority.

That’s not me saying Arsenal don’t need additions, just that buying players is not always the answer and it’s really starting to irk me how the injury crisis we suffered for half a season doesn’t even get a mention while people try to work out why Arsenal struggled at the start of the season.

Anyway…

“I still think they’re two players away from being the real deal but I think Wenger is getting close to identifying who those players are,” Charlie said.

“He’s identified the actual areas that need addressing for the first time and that’s what makes me a lot more confident that, finally, he’s nailed down what the future of this club is.

“It’s the defence and the protection of the defence that need attention – he recognises that now.

“[Francis] Coquelin has done really well but I would like another holding midfield player to come in, perhaps a [Morgan] Schneiderlin type of player.

“Arsene has brought Gabriel in and maybe he’s thinking ‘I’ve got a replacement for Mertesacker here’. But there’s certainly a case for bringing in a big name at centre-half this summer.

“Ideally, if the situation arose, I’d like to go and get Raphael Varane from Real Madrid, that’s who I’d really love Arsenal to get.”