Jamie Carragher identifies the two signings Arsenal must make this summer

Jamie Carragher says Arsenal are ‘always going to be at a disadvantage’ if they fail to strengthen their attack and Mikel Arteta ‘needs big upgrades’ at centre-forward and on the left wing.

Arsenal brought their wait for a Premier League title to an end earlier this month, finishing seven points clear of Manchester City to get their hands on the trophy which has eluded the club for 22 years.

But the Gunners missed out on a historic double this weekend as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to prevail on penalties and successfully defend the maiden Champions League title they won last year.

Arteta’s men had looked on course to be crowned European champions for the first time in their history after Kai Havertz opened the scoring with an emphatic finish in only the sixth minute at Budapest’s Puskas Arena.

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The holders rallied and found an equaliser from the spot through Ousmane Dembele, though, before Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Magalhaes both missed in a nerve-shredding shootout to secure victory for Luis Enrique’s side.

Less than 24 hours on from the defeat, Arsenal fans will gather on the streets of north London to celebrate the club’s Premier League triumph, with Arteta’s squad returning from Hungary to soak up the moment with supporters.

However, there are likely to be mixed emotions amongst the crowds in attendance, with yesterday’s performance once again bringing questions to the surface surrounding the side’s apparent deficiencies in attack – this is despite Viktor Gyokeres’ £64million arrival from Sporting last summer.

‘That’s always been the criticism of Arteta’s Arsenal. I think the way they played last night was almost the only way they could have played to try and beat PSG,’ former Liverpool and England defender Carragher said on Sky Sports News the morning after the night before.

‘PSG weren’t great in the first half. Were they there for the taking? But that’s what Arsenal are.

‘What I would say and I’ve said this all season and I thought this would stop Arsenal winning the league but it didn’t: they don’t have enough quality in attack.

‘There was times in that first half especially where they just couldn’t keep the ball. PSG weren’t doing great, they weren’t creating chances, but it was far too easy to allow a team just to push it back to the edge of your own box.’

Carragher picked out the performances of William Saliba and Gabriel for special praise, claiming Arsenal’s centre-back pairing were ‘outstanding’ for the newly crowned English champions.

But the 2005 Champions League winner suggested the difference in quality between the two sets of attackers was ‘night and day’ in the Hungarian capital.

He added: ‘Arsenal are fantastic, the best team in the world at defending their own box and their two centre-backs were outstanding last night, but even though they are the champions of England they need better attackers.

‘If they get better attackers will they fulfil their absolute potential? I’m asking because we know Mikel Arteta asks a lot of his attacking players in terms of getting back and helping the full-backs.

‘But when you look at the quality of the front four of PSG compared to Arsenal, it’s night and day.’

Asked if Arsenal’s Premier League triumph could see the ‘shackles’ released for a big summer of spending, Carragher replied: ‘Yes, and I think that was the idea in the summer in terms of bringing Gyokeres in. It hasn’t quite worked out for them.

‘But I do look at the centre-forward position and I look at the left wing position and I think they need big upgrades if they’re going to win the Champions League.

‘Without them, they’ve come really close, your penalties away, but when you look at the run they had to the Champions League final, it was a very favourable run.

‘I think when they come up against the best teams in Europe, and you look at the attacking players they’ve got, I think they’re always going to be at a disadvantage.

‘That is definitely where they need to improve in the summer.’

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