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Chris Sutton has pointed out Arsenal's recruitment as their biggest issue. He believes that the Gunners' failing to sign a striker in the last 2 windows has been the main reason for their lack of trophies.
Writing on the BBC, Sutton stated that Mikel Arteta's side would have done better this season if they had a striker who could convert chances. He added that the big games were thrown away because of their poor finishing and wrote:
“Arsenal are still heading in the right direction. But the biggest problem for me has been their recruitment, especially for them to not sign a striker last summer. There are such fine margins between success and failure at the highest level, and you need someone to put away your chances in the biggest games."
“They basically admitted that by trying to sign Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa in January and if anyone or anything is to blame for another trophy-less season, then that’s where it lies. Now Arsenal need to refocus and make sure they don’t let second place slip away.”
Arsenal launched a late bid to sign Ollie Watkins in the January window, but failed to agree a deal with Aston Villa. The Gunners were without Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus for nearly half the season, leaving Arteta to use Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard as his strikers.
Ian Wright questions Arsenal after Champions League exit
Ian Wright also questioned Arsenal's recruitment after the Gunners crashed out of the UEFA Champions League. He stated that the bench was too weak and Mikel Arteta had no one to bring on to try and turn things around.
He said:
“We literally couldn’t bring anyone off the bench to help that game in the semi-final of a Champions League. That is the only thing that I will point a finger at in respects of the recruitment. And this is why I’m hoping that Andrea Berta has got his book out and he’s ready to go. Because we are three or four players away from winning the league and winning the Champions League.”
Arsenal are finishing their 5th season without a trophy under Mikel Arteta. The Gunners won the FA Cup in the 2019/20 season, months after they appointed the Spaniard.
However, that remains their last trophy under the former Manchester City assistant coach. They have finished as runners-up in the Premier League in the last two seasons, and are currently second, with three matches left in the season.
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Sripad is a veteran Sportskeeda football journalist, who has been with the company for around 9.5 years. His tryst with writing happened in class XI when he started penning blogs, and his foray into football was during the early 2000s, watching matches with his cousins.
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Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer