Arsenal scouts ‘were sleeping’ to let West Ham snap up bargain buy Tomas Soucek so easily, says ex-Chelsea star Sutton
ARSENAL scouts 'were sleeping' when they missed out to West Ham on midfielder Tomas Soucek, according to ex-Chelsea striker Chris Sutton.
The Czech, who joined the Hammers for £19.1million at the start of 2020, has netted eight times this season, making him West Ham's top scorer in all competitions and one of the Premier League's stars.
And Sutton believes Arsenal could have done with Soucek at their club, but failed to locate him before David Moyes' side.
Speaking on , he said: “Would Arsenal fans like Soucek in their midfield, right now? Of course they would.
"David Moyes and West Ham had a better eye than every other Premier League club – and the Arsenal’s scouts were sleeping, that’s a fact."
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta continues to struggle to find a consistent central midfield set-up for the Gunners.
Summer signing Thomas Partey is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.
And there are also question marks among Arsenal fans when it comes to Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny.
BET OF THE DAY: BEST PRICES ON THE MARKET FOR PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ACTION
Most read in Football
⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
Then, in the more attacking midfield roles, Willian has not yet found his form at the Emirates.
And January loanee Martin Odegaard looked off the pace when he started in their 1-0 defeat by Manchester City at the weekend.
Arsenal currently sit tenth in the Premier League table, 12 points BEHIND West Ham in fourth.