Micah Richards urges Arsenal to sign £82m star after Champions League final defeat

Former Manchester City and England defender Micah Richards (Picture: Getty)

Micah Richards believes Arsenal can compete for major trophies for years to come if they strengthen in three areas this summer.

The Gunners held a jubilant trophy parade in north London on Sunday after winning the Premier League for the first since 2004.

Mikel Arteta ’s side recorded three successive second-place finishes before finally clinching a long-awaited Premier League title , finishing seven points above Pep Guardiola ’s Manchester City .

The campaign could have been even more successful but Arsenal suffered a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to PSG in the Champions League final.

Several Arsenal players have vowed to go one better and become European champions next season and Richards believes that is certainly possible with a strong summer transfer window.

‘I think the pressure is off Arsenal a bit now but the recruitment is going to be key because they’ve already got a really good squad,’ he said on The Rest is Football podcast .

Asked which areas the new Premier League champions could look to strengthen in the transfer market, Richards added: ‘I think they need another striker.

Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat (Picture: Getty)

‘Kai Havertz is outstanding in terms of technical ability and Viktor Gyokeres has done well in his first season. But if they could get someone like Julian Alvarez, that would just give Arsenal something different.

‘He’s one of the best strikers in world football going into the World Cup and he’s already won one of those with Argentina.

‘I think they also need another left-winger and another centre midfielder. Bringing in [Christian] Norgaard has worked to a certain degree in terms of his temperament and Myles Lewis-Skelly has shown he can definitely do a job in there.

Atletico Madrid star and Arsenal target Julian Alvarez (Picture: Getty)

‘But to get the best out of someone like [Martin] Zubimendi you need to be a little bit higher so he can get on the ball and dictate the game from there.

‘So maybe they can get someone else in the midfield alongside Rice who is more box to box, more energetic and aggressive.

‘If they get that, a new striker and another winger they can compete for the next two, three, four years now – that’s how good I think they can be.’

Arsenal are interested in signing Atletico superstar Alvarez , who has enjoyed two impressive seasons in Spain following his £82m move from Manchester City.

Alvarez, who won two league titles at Man City, is valued at around 150m euros (£120m) by Atletico Madrid who are also aware of interest from La Liga champions Barcelona .