Arsenal want Wilfried Zaha and Trent-Alexander Arnold once claimed he was his ‘toughest opponent’

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Arsenal are reportedly keen on signing Crystal Palace winger, Wilfried Zaha, with the Daily Mail claiming that Mikel Arteta is keen to see the Gunners move for the Eagles star this summer.

The 27-year-old once again played a pivotal role in securing Palace’s Premier League safety under Roy Hodgson. However, with the season now done, the usual talk of Zaha potentially moving on is gathering pace.

The Gunners are keen to strengthen their ranks this summer after enjoying an element of success under Arteta. They finished the season well and can still win the FA Cup.

Zaha, then, may well prove to be an inspired signing who can take their attacking play to the next level. Indeed, back in a 2018 interview with The Times, Liverpool star, Trent-Alexander Arnold, gave Zaha the highest of praise.

“On the day, I’d say Zaha was the hardest.  Just his athleticism. You can’t get the ball off him, hard to tackle, fast, skilful, can score goals, set them up, a match-winner.

“With Neymar and Ronaldo, you can see they are very intelligent players, people who know their trade, different movements, but they never got much of the ball against us. Obviously Zaha is not at a level of Ronaldo and Neymar, but for me on the day Zaha was probably the hardest.”

The Liverpool man was speaking when asked about who his toughest opponent had been. During that 2018 campaign, Zaha hit ten goals for Palace and was in fine form.

Zaha can take Arsenal to the next level but they still need more – TBR View

Signing Zaha would give Arsenal a big boost at the top end of the pitch. A player that talented and proven in the PL is not going to do anything but do that.

However, if the Gunners think he’ll solve everything then they are probably mistaken. They need cover and better players defensively, while they also need to tie down key men to new deals.

So, while Zaha is a great signing if it happens, they’ll still need more to be able to challenge for the top four.