Arsenal legend Robert Pires believes the Gunners can win the Premier League title for the first time since 2003-04 if they sign Sami Khedira, The Telegraph has reported.
Pires, who lifted two league championships with the Gunners and was part of the team that went through the 2003-04 campaign unbeaten, said Arsene Wenger's side were missing a midfield enforcer in the mould of Patrick Vieira.
The former France international, now playing for Indian Super League team Goa FC, said he believed Germany international Khedira's arrival from Real Madrid would address that problem.
He explained: "He [Wenger] needs a big player in the middle -- like Viera, strong, tall -- because this position is very important for the balance between attack and defence.
#INSERT type:image caption:Sami Khedira can provide the sort of influence that Patrick Viera once did, Robert Pires believes. END#
"The quality is there [for Arsenal to challenge], but you need more. Maybe they have an opportunity with Khedira in the January window. He played very well with Germany.
"My advice is that if he can buy Khedira he can be the Vieira [figure], [providing] more aggression in the middle.
"He has a lot of experience. When you play in the middle you need experience, especially when your midfield is young like Arsenal's."
Khedira, part of the Germany squad that won the World Cup in Brazil this summer, is under contract with Madrid until the end of the season, and it is thought an offer of around 10 million pounds would tempt them to sell.
Pires said that although the Gunners were nine points behind Chelsea, who beat them 2-0 at Stamford Bridge last season, he felt they could still lift the title.