Arteta ‘disappointed’ by Arsenal’s failure to sign a new striker
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted he is “disappointed” by the club’s failure to sign a new striker before the transfer window closed on Monday.
Arsenal were unable to lure England forward Ollie Watkins away from Aston Villa after their £60 million ($75 million) bid was rejected last week.
Having failed to pivot to another deal after the Watkins snub, the Gunners ended the January window with questions about a forward line weakened by long-term injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka.
Ahead of Wednesday’s League Cup semi-final second leg at Newcastle, Arteta conceded the lack of transfer activity was frustrating.
“We talked very openly about the intention to improve the squad if we had the capacity. With players with injuries, we’ve been impacted and we haven’t achieved it,” Arteta told reporters on Tuesday.
“We are disappointed in that sense but as well we are very aware that we only want to bring certain kinds of players.
“We couldn’t do it for certain reasons and we have to accept it. It was a combination of things. We have to be very disciplined with that as well.”
Arsenal operated in the window without their former sporting director Edu, who resigned in November after playing a key role in their transfer policy.
Edu was a close ally of Arteta but the Spaniard insisted he had no complaints about Arsenal’s recruitment process despite their unsuccessful striker hunt.
“When you try your best and do things with the right process, and after you don’t achieve it, OK. For sure there are things to learn from it but now we have to move on,” he said.
– ‘Have to be flexible’ –
While Arsenal have to cope with an under-strength attack for now, they showed no signs of being affected in Sunday’s 5-1 demolition of Manchester City.
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