Injuries to Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka stunted Arsenal's Premier League title challenge, and their failure to sign a striker during the winter transfer window left Mikel Arteta short of options, with Mikel Merino playing up front. TNT Sports experts Lucy Ward, Rio Ferdinand, Martin Keown and Ally McCoist have analysed the situation at Emirates Stadium.
After an ambitious late bid for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins was rejected, according to reports, Arsenal’s winter transfer window ended without a single new face coming through the door.
They sit second in the table but are a whopping 12 points behind leaders Liverpool with just nine matches remaining.
At the start of the season, Ward backed the Londoners to lift the trophy in May, and assessing their campaign to date, she said on TNT Sports' The Breakdown: Premier League Special: "I like what Arteta has done with Arsenal.
"I think that Arsenal have improved season-on-season. I think he’s moulded the group into what he wants. He likes what he’s got.
"But, I think it’s just an astronomical failure that they haven’t got someone who puts the ball in the back of the net.
He started talking about Havertz being a genetic monster, or whatever it was, and then he got injured literally like the next game."
Ward has covered Arsenal’s matches on many occasions this season and said: "When they’ve been tight games and there’s been situations where if they had a proper goalscorer in front of goal, it would’ve been a straightforward game."
Rio Ferdinand says there is a simple solution to Arsenal’s striker crisis - but it will not go down well with Newcastle United fans.
Ferdinand stated, "Alexander Isak is the obvious answer because he is here in the Premier League and he has proven in the Premier League." "He scores goals against the best teams and best players."
Ally McCoist does not think it will be easy for Arsenal - or any other club - to lure one of Europe’s hottest strikers away from St James’ Park.
"If you’re Newcastle, you’re going the other way. You’re building the team around Isak, you’re not selling him."
Analysing Arsenal’s next steps in addressing their strikerless situation, Keown said: "I would suggest there’s already a player bought, it’s already done. They won’t make that mistake again."
However, Ward thinks it is too little, too late: "They’ve jeopardised the title and it just looks careless so I can’t think for a minute that Arteta was quite happy.
"I think Arteta always believes in the power of five or six players, rather than one. He’s always said that. When it comes to goals, you need someone."
Regardless of whether or not Isak could be tempted away from Tyneside, former Arsenal defender Martin Keown thinks there is no way his former club could afford to bring the Swedish striker to the Emirates.
"Now that they’ve won [the EFL Cup], it’s even more difficult to get him away from there. It has everyone in it. It’s about finding these players before everybody else does," added Keown.
"You’ve got to go after the players - a good free transfer. You can’t keep spending money on an obvious Declan Rice."
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