Jamie Carragher believes the Premier League is experiencing a “top-quality striker” drought and pointed to three clubs that need to improve their attacking options in the off-season. The ex-England international was speaking after Arsenal‘s disappointing 1-1 draw away to Manchester United, where Mikel Arteta‘s side were blasted for their forward play.
The Gunners needed a late Declan Rice strike to level things up at Old Trafford, with Arsenal having fallen behind in the first half to a Bruno Fernandes free-kick. Despite their best endeavours, Arsenal were unable to snatch a winning goal, meaning they now sit 15 points behind leaders Liverpool.
Arsenal‘s decision not to add a centre forward to their ranks in either of this season’s transfer windows has been criticised, especially after Kai Havertz picked up a season-ending injury last month. However, Carragher has defended the capital club for not rushing into a deal, insisting Havertz is as good as anyone to lead Arsenal‘s line.
Speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher mused: “I get frustrated when I keep hearing people say ‘Arsenal just need a striker’. Now, is Kai Havertz world-class? Possibly not, but I think he does a great job for that team in terms of all-around play. It’s not just about scoring goals.”
The one-time Champions League winner continued: “You think about some of the other big teams in the Premier League, where are the strikers? Liverpool signed [Darwin] Nunez, not good enough. [Rasmus] Hojlund, [at United] not good enough. [Nicolas] Jackson isn’t good enough for Chelsea.
“There’s a dearth of top-quality strikers around the world, so when Mikel Arteta is looking for this guy who is going to take them to the next step for the title, it’s very difficult to find the guy who’s going to bring you these goals and give you what Kai Havertz does in that position. So for me, I actually think creation is the big problem.”
Arteta has fielded questions on the decision not to sign a striker ever since the January transfer window slammed shut. He said last month: “We had a clear intention to explore the opportunities to improve our squad with players that can impact it. And we haven’t achieved that so we are disappointed in that sense.
“We are very aware that we only want to bring a certain kind of player in and we have to be very disciplined with that as well. After you don’t achieve it, for sure there are things to learn from it, there always are but you have to move on. Nobody knows whether it is better to have done it or not. We’ll know probably at the end of the season.
“But we’re going to have to be very flexible with the front line. Leo can play in that position. Raheem has played in that position. Ethan, I think, can play in that position. Martinelli can play there, too. At some point, we’re going to have to try something different.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk