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Arsenal are the second top scorers in the Premier League this season with 49 goals – but they need a striker, a talisman up front.
Newcastle, who do have one in Alexander Isak, had 17 shots to Arsenal’s 34 across the two legs – and won 4-0.
Usually football managers pretend they are happy anyway after a transfer window where they fail to recruit but Arteta admitted he was “disappointed” that they “haven’t achieved it”.
Aston Villa rejected an approach from Arsenal for England striker Ollie Watkins in the week before the transfer window closed.
Rumours linking them to Isak, Wolves’ Matheus Cunha, Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and even Brighton’s Evan Ferguson went nowhere.
That leaves them with Kai Havertz – who is more of an attacking midfielder – as their only real option at number nine.
Havertz has done well with 15 goals in all competitions – but that is still not a lot to be the top scorer for a team fighting for multiple trophies.
The German is joint 12th top scorer in the Premier League with nine, level with Liam Delap, whose Ipswich Town are in the relegation zone.
Gabriel Jesus – the last striker (although he is also a wide player) they signed back in 2022 – is injured, as is star winger Bukayo Saka, who was their only 20-goal scorer last season.
Arteta said in the build-up to Wednesday’s game that Havertz might have to start every game for the rest of the season.
His other options to play there, he said, are wingers Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling, Ethan Nwaneri and Gabriel Martinelli.
Martinelli went off injured against Newcastle, Sterling has scored one goal for the club and Nwaneri is 17.
Their last 20-goal-a-season striker was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (29 goals in 2019-20). Since then Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Folarin Balogun and …
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