Arsenal are once again left counting the cost of not signing a new striker in the January transfer window as the Gunners reel from the news that Kai Havertz will miss the rest of the season.
The German tore a hamstring during the club’s winter training camp in Dubai, and he will now not play again until the 2025-26 season.
It’s another devastating blow for Mikel Arteta, who is already without Gabriel Jesus (ACL) for the rest of the season while Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli both recover from hamstring problems.
The Gunners currently trail Liverpool by six points at the top of the Premier League table, having played a game more. Their title bid risks being totally derailed now by their lack of remaining forward options.
Much has been written about the failure to acquire a new goalscoring threat in January, but what is the real truth behind what happened during an ultimately fruitless month for the Gunners?
A new article from FootballTransfers and reporter Steve Kay claims that Arsenal DID explore several potential avenues, but in the end stuck to the long-term vision that buying big in the upcoming summer window would be a more sensible use of resources.
Arsenal transfer targets revealed
So who did Arsenal actually go after in January?
- Kay claims Serbian star Dusan Vlahovic was considered, and talks were held with Juventus over a loan deal. However, the Serie A side insisted on an obligation to buy, which Arsenal weren’t willing to commit to, given their focus on securing their primary striker targets in the summer.
- Kay claims the Gunners did speak to RB Leipzig about the hugely talented Benjamin Sesko. Both the player and Leipzig though preferred to see out the season before revisiting discussions in the summer.
- Bayern Munich teenager Mathys Tel wanted guarantees over game time – something Arsenal couldn’t promise at this stage despite considering the 19-year-old.
- Finally, and contrary to reports, Kay says the Gunners never made an actual bid for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins. Instead he claims it was merely a phone conversation between the clubs in which Arsenal informed Villa that they were willing to pay up to £40 million for Watkins. A fee of £60m was never mentioned as Arsenal wanted to keep enough funds available for the summer. Villa meanwhile made it clear that Watkins wasn’t for sale.
None of this of course should be much comfort to long-suffering Gunners. It is now almost 21 years since the Premier League trophy resided in north London, and there is every chance the drought will continue for at least another year.
The talk of Sesko or Newcastle star Alexander Isak arriving in the summer is nice, but it would not completely make up for the failure to finally return to the summit of English football any time soon.