Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has shared his thoughts on the news that Kai Havertz could miss the rest of the Premier League season due to injury, a blow to Arsenal’s title hopes. The German has been playing as the primary striker for the Gunners this term, filling in for the injured Gabriel Jesus. Arsenal’s decision not to sign a striker in the last two transfer windows now appears to be a critical oversight, especially with both Jesus and Havertz unavailable for the rest of the season.
Jordan believes that Mikel Arteta now has a valid excuse if Arsenal fails to win the league. Speaking to TalkSport, he said: “This is going to enable Arteta to hide in the long grass and have a justification for Arsenal not winning the league this year – and it might be a legitimate one. But it’s going to take the heat off him in some respects, because people are not going to expect him to win the league now because he’s bereft of strikers.”
The injury to Havertz is undoubtedly a major setback for Arsenal, particularly as the team looks to compete for the Premier League title. With no recognised striker available, the pressure will now fall on other attacking players, such as Leandro Trossard to step up and fill the void. While it may seem difficult to maintain the same level of attack without a central forward, Arsenal’s attacking options remain potent, and Arteta will hope his squad can adapt to this new challenge.
Despite Jordan’s view that Arteta could now deflect some of the blame if the team falters, Arsenal will still have to find ways to stay competitive. The loss of both Jesus and Havertz leaves Arteta with a daunting task, but it is also an opportunity for others in the squad to prove their worth. With Arsenal’s creative players capable of scoring from wide and central positions, the team could still find a way to score goals and maintain their push for the title. The true test of Arteta’s managerial abilities will be how he manages this crisis and whether his side can continue their pursuit of Premier League glory.
This situation may have given Arteta an excuse, but the pressure is still very much on his shoulders to deliver results, even without a recognised striker in the team.
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
It certainly won’t be a get out clause with me. Because Arteta may have been asking for a striker in the January transfer window, but his lack of movement regarding a striker for three seasons has now come home to roost.
But Jordan is right when he says that Arteta has got an excuse now, and while there will be some fans only to willing to except it, I certainly won’t be one of them.
Some of the player’s this manager has brought in, is mind boggling at best.🙄🤦♂️🤷♂️
Derek
You make good points, and I would also add this. We didn’t want “just a body,” but how many would take just a body now up top?
It took yet another Jesus injury to force the club to admit need for a striker. The urgency expressed in January should have been the urgency last Summer.
Instead we got yet another LB, while having both Zinchenko and Tierney still on the books.
We spent weeks and weeks finalizing Merino; too similar to Rice/Partey/Jorginho, and not enough of attacking midfielder to help Odegaard.
Can’t predict Odegaard injury, but signing Merino instead of Odegaard cover sure looked like an unnecessary mistake.
Asking for attacking help in January? Why didn’t Arteta help himself the last 2 Summers?
How many transfer windows passed without Saka having a backup? Who’s fault is that, owners or Arteta?
800 million spent and no cover for Saka, no cover for Odegaard, and still no striker with consistent finishing.
Sorry but I only have so much sympathy in the face of such obvious mistakes regarding transfer decisions.
There were loan options without obligations but club did nothing in January; everyone at club is at fault for that miss in my opinion.
And before “we don’t want just a body” it was internal solutions! It too funny that most football fans knew the problems, knew what we are lacking but the ones who do this day to day for a living, as there job did not see and did not act! Arteta has pushed us forward and I give him a lot of respect for that but along the way he’s made some massive mistakes!!! We don’t know the real story of any of it (maybe someone will spill the beans on a podcast in years to come. I still want to back Arteta because he looks like he’s nearly there! I hope these are heavy learning curves for him and I hope he has taken much away from many of his errors that will make him a better manager. But for me he’s in the last chance saloon. Between now and the end of the season it will tell us all we need to know…
Spot on! Arteta cannot extricate himself from this rookie manager portfolio.
Durand,
I agree with your post. your points are well made.
Now let me just say before I make my point that I’m not and never have or never will be a big fan of Havertz. To me he’s a good player, nothing more nothing less.
But the thing that’s making me laugh currently is, the stick Havertz was getting after his misses in the games against Manchester United and Newcastle.
And now he’s got this season ending injury, all of the sudden Arsenal’s season is crashing down.
In my opinion Havertz was a totally unnecessary signing. And if the manager had spent the money wasted on him on a striker, we may just be sitting here today having watched out team win the League in the past two seasons, instead of being second.
Regardless Havertz’s form, Arteta would put him on the pitch every time. Last year, this year, like a protege and many fans were frustrated at times. I’m not happy he is injured but I would have liked to see Arsenal with Havertz missing or on the bench for at least a couple of months. Unfortunately we have a lot of other injuries and in these circumstaces it’s difficult to say what Havertz brings to the team.
Havertz was two things for Arteta when he signed.
1. He was an ego signing for Arteta, he thought he could unlock the player in Havertz.
2. Havertz is his little project.
And while Arteta has been wasting time on his project, he’s been neglecting the teams need for an out and out striker for three seasons now and counting.
To think he signed Havertz over the need for an out and out striker. £65 million that could and should have been spent better.
He then compounds that by prioritizing two defensive player’s in Calafiori and Merino over the need for a striker.
Is this manager ever going to be held to account by a certain section of the fanbase. 🙄🤦♂️
Arteta can try Calafiori as a striker, he has a better finishing than some strikers
Trossard cf, Tesco lw, Ethan rw.
I think Jordan’s been reading Just Arsenal.
Edu let us down leaving us light in the summer and then jumping ship leaving us with Ayto who must be incompetent Why weren’t the Kroenke’s looking for a proper replacement for Edu, it’s criminal, and what about now are they still not going to find us one I’m someone who praised Edu but I feel with what he has done in the summer and then leaving us midway it has hurt badly this season I’d be interested to hear his side of the story because I know he loves Arsenal, so it’s baffling