Thierry Henry wouldn’t score in this Arsenal team – and Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice must do more.
That’s the view of Gunners legend Martin Keown, who believes Arsenal’s gamble in not signing a striker has backfired.
He told talkSPORT.com: “When you’ve got four strikers [forwards] that are out and not available to the manager – Havertz, Jesus, Martinelli and Saka…
“I think in any team, in any situation, what’s the equivalent of that at Liverpool? [Mohamed] Salah not being available, [Diogo] Jota, [Luis] Diaz, [Cody] Gakpo, that would be a hole in Liverpool’s team. So I don’t think anyone can plan for that.
“Last season when Arsenal went on their run – 16 wins [from last 18 matches] – they scored 53 goals.
“They were so collective in the way that they scored goals and I think that was the plan for this year to not bring in a striker and of course that’s backfired.
“Because you’ve seen that they needed a striker – even before the injuries took hold.
“There’s been suspensions, [Martin] Odegaard was out for two months and then Saka of course, so it kind of feels like one thing after another.
“And at the weekend [vs West Ham], they just didn’t create enough, it didn’t matter who was up front, it didn’t matter who was going to be the centre-forward.
“If Thierry Henry was the centre-forward at the weekend, without creating opportunities for him [he wouldn’t score], the precision in their game disappeared.”
Asked whether Rice and Odegaard should shoulder some of the blame for the club lacking a cutting edge up top, Keown remarked: “There are five injuries at Arsenal and four of them are at the front of the team, so that’s an issue.
“It’s about that creativity, who are you giving the ball to and getting that right balance.
“But yeah, they’ve got to chip in [with goals], that’s the thing, you need everyone to chip in – set pieces is an area where they can do that.
“But if you don’t keep teams under pressure – I think at the weekend there was only one corner come half-time.
“So it’s about the manner of your play, the build-up of your play, trying to apply pressure.
“Of course Declan [should score more], Merino grabbed a couple of goals last week [against Leicester], everyone – [including Thomas] Partey – has to do more.
“Because even the defenders, I saw Gabriel charging forward at the end of the game trying to dig in and score goals.
“It’s not ideal, but those players need to contribute.”
