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Ian Wright says he was ‘pleased’ Arsenal at least made an attempt to sign Ollie Watkins this winter, while speculating that Alexander Isak ‘wasn’t even an option’ for his former club.
Mikel Arteta confirmed the Gunners were exploring avenues to bolster their attack in the wake of Gabriel Jesus’ season-ending injury, with the Spaniard forced to rely on Kai Havertz in the false No.9 role this term.
But the window closed without Arsenal making a single signing, which Arteta admits was ‘disappointing’, given the lack of viable options at his disposal up front.
Watkins emerged as Arsenal’s primary target in the days approaching the deadline – and the north London outfit tested Aston Villa’s resolve with a bid in the region of £60million for the England forward.
But Villa rejected the ambitious offer out of hand, determined to keep hold of their star striker after losing Jhon Duran to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr.
A resounding 5-1 victory over champions Manchester City arrived at the perfect time to silence those fans criticising Arsenal for failing to strengthen while they had the chance in January.
The likes of Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, Isak and Watkins were all linked in recent weeks, but Wright believes it was ‘always going to be tough’ for Arsenal to strengthen at the halfway stage of the campaign.
‘It was always going to be tough for us. Isak wasn’t even an option,’ the legendary ex-Arsenal striker said on the Wrighty’s House podcast.
‘When we’re talking about strikers, it’s a gamble and I don’t care who you are.
‘Darwin Nunez, Rasmus Hojlund… Isak went for £63m, he’s the only one in recent times that I’m looking at as a striker who has probably doubled his money.
‘You look at Nicolas Jackson. For £32m, I’m happy with that. But when you start getting past £50m, you have to start thinking that it’s a pure gamble.
‘They’re hoping that it works and I don’t think Arsenal can afford to do that. That’s probably why they went for a 29-year-old in Ollie Watkins or Villa tried to get him to come to us, whatever it was.
‘As a club, I don’t think we can afford to take the chance on those kind of signings hitting or missing. It has to hit with Arsenal and this is why it’s so tough.
‘I’ve always thought it was so difficult to get somebody in January. Who is going to leave at that stage who is the calibre of player you want? We’re going to have to see something in the summer.’
On Havertz’s mixed performance against City, Wright added: ‘We’re talking about someone who has been turned into the main striker and he’s doing the very best he can do.
‘We haven’t really got anybody in and you’re thinking that we probably need someone.
‘I was quite pleased, however it came about, that they tried for someone like Ollie Watkins. You have to at least try.’
Wright was, of course, delighted with Arsenal’s performance against City but feels it could have been even more comfortable had they been able to call upon a proven goalscorer to ease the nerves at the Emirates.
He continued: ‘If Ollie Watkins could have happened, which I still believe was initiated by Villa, because they were hedging their bets with Jhon Duran: which one was going to go and then obviously he went…
‘I’m not even sure if Ollie Watkins was the one that wanted to go. No, Villa were the ones that maybe wanted to sell one of those two.
‘But I think at 29, as much as it’s not like a signing for the future, but for what Arsenal need right now, to win certain games and get ahead in certain games…
‘What I saw in that Manchester City game was chances being taken, even though Kai Havertz missed that one, but chances being taken, energy up and looking really dangerous at every opportunity.
‘We did that to Manchester City, who are obviously going through what they’re going through, but I think we can do that to any team with that energy.
‘But if you’ve got the person who can score the goal when the game is in the balance then you get to a situation and that place in the game where everybody is confident, the opposition have to come out and do something, then you can pick them off.
‘So many times we lose that opportunity because we miss chances. Especially at home, they get a little bit nervy and you can feel the nervousness at the Emirates.’
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