"When you look at the injuries and you look at the players that came, OK, he brought players – he got [Raheem] Sterling when everyone wanted a nine," Thierry Henry said on The Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, when assessing Mikel Arteta's transfer choices after seeing Arsenal finish second in the Premier League for the third year in a row. "He had time to get a nine, he had time. I’m not the coach, I don’t know how the discussion went. Everyone has been screaming for a nine."
The Arsenal faithful had indeed been "screaming" for a new striker throughout the 2024 summer window, but Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori and Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino were the only two major permanent deals that Arsenal closed, while Sterling arrived from Chelsea on loan. Arteta inexplicably decided to keep faith in Kai Havertz and the injury-plagued Gabriel Jesus - the only proper No.9 signed by the Spaniard in his entire reign to date - to finally get the Gunners over the title line, and unsurprisingly, it backfired.
Liverpool won the 2024-25 Premier League crown with four games to spare as Arsenal struggled for the consistency of previous seasons amid an injury crisis that claimed the likes of Havertz, Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, and Calafiori. Arteta's side did enjoy a run to the Champions League semi-finals, but were ultimately outclassed by Paris Saint-Germain, and ended up extending their trophy drought to five years.
Bad luck undoubtedly played a part in that, but Arteta's poor planning in the transfer market was the main reason for Arsenal's failure, and there will be no hiding place for the 43-year-old coach if the same thing happens again next season. Arsenal are no longer making forward progress, and a change in the dugout will be inevitable if Arteta doesn't learn from his mistakes.
The early signs this summer, though, suggest that he has. After closing deals for Real Sociedad playmaker Martin Zubimendi and back-up goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, the Gunners are reportedly now closing in on a blockbuster transfer for Sporting CP sensation Viktor Gyokeres, who has all the attributes to be the transformational signing Arteta so desperately needs to deliver tangible success to the Emirates Stadium.
