Arsenal need to sign Thomas Partey to start competing again - Kevin Campbell

Former Arsenal star Kevin Campbell says the club needs to sign "four or five" players including Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey to launch the club back into the Premier League title race.

The 28-year-old is enjoying his best season in LaLiga with Atlético Madrid - making 33 league appearances and scoring two goals so far.

The Gunners are still looking for a talismanic figure to fill their engine room and have been heavily linked to the Black Stars talisman who reportedly has a release clause of €50million (£43.5m).

As Mikel Arteta's side struggle to qualify for next season's Europa League, the 50-year-old believes Partey and Adrien Rabiot are required to fix the Gunners' midfield.

He wrote for GentingBet: "Arsenal need four or five players across the board.

"They need centre-halves, I can see them going for one or two players in that position.

"They also need central midfielders, and more energy across the midfield and either another striker or a wide player.

"I could see three players coming to Arsenal, dependent on recruitment and transfer budget – I’m not sure what’s going to happen and I’m not sure who Arteta is looking at.

"I could take Thomas Partey in midfield, from Atletico Madrid and Adrien Rabiot from Juventus.

"I’d love to see Kalidou Koulibaly at the back as Arsenal struggle with quick forwards and Koulibaly is quick and an excellent defender.

"That’s the position, especially after the North London derby, where we need someone who can cover ground pretty well."

The ex-striker added: "The defence has been an Achilles heel for Arsenal for years now and it's never really been addressed.

"This is especially true for the centre back position where, we've seen David Luiz, [Shkodran] Mustafi and [Sead] Kolasinac all make so many mistakes.

"These are all players who shouldn't be making those mistakes, they're seasoned professionals. Different personalities are needed to combat that issue and I think that that's the key area for improvement."