Santi Cazorla wants Arsenal to sign a striker ahead of next season

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla believes the Gunners need to strengthen in the attacking department during the summer transfer window.

The Spanish international believes that the north London club are short up front and lack an out-and-out striker to provide the goals that were lacking at times during the course of the 2014/15 campaign.

Olivier Giroud, who is Arsenal's main striker contributed with 19 goals in all competitions, but it was last summer's marquee signing Alexis Sanchez, who top scored with 25 goals.

The Emirates Stadium outfit's other forwards Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott contributed with eight and seven goals respectively. But the low goal tally for the trio apart from the Chilean could be attributed to their injury struggles, which saw them miss a major part of the season at different times.

Cazorla, who insists that the decision regarding summer recruitment solely lies with the manager, hopes that the Gunners can sign a player, who will take the team to the next level. He also indicated that the Gunners will need a new forward as he feels Theo is not in the mold of an outright striker.

"It's a tough decision and it's down to Mr Wenger to make these decisions. My only hope is that whoever is chosen will be somebody who can pump up the level of the team," Cazorla said, as quoted by the Mirror.

"When it comes to a position or who in particular we might need somebody in Theo Walcott's area. He's not necessarily a true, true striker so we might need somebody in his area," the Spaniard added.

The 12-times FA Cup champions have been linked to a host of forwards following the end of the season, with Porto's Jackson Martinez being the most frequently mentioned name along with Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette and Napoli's Gonzalo Higuain.