'I think Arsenal are still missing a striker – Kai Havertz has made a good start to the season, but they miss someone who can give them a plan B': Gunners legend gives his thoughts to FFT after opening matches of the new campaign
Mikel Arteta's side were held to a draw at home to Brighton on Saturday, and an Arsenal great thinks they need more options
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Arsenal sit fourth in the table after the opening three games of the new Premier League season – two points behind Manchester City and Liverpool.
The Gunners secured encouraging victories over Wolves and Aston Villa in their first two matches, but could only draw 1-1 at home to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, after Declan Rice’s red card was followed by Joao Pedro’s equaliser for the visitors.
Kai Havertz had given Arsenal a first-half lead in that match, following up his goal and assist against Wolves on the opening day, as he’s again started up front for Mikel Arteta’s men this season.
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The Gunners came so close to winning the league last season, falling two points short to Manchester City on the final day of the campaign, having been five points behind Pep Guardiola’s side a year earlier, following several years in the wilderness.
But Manchester City have started ominously this season, with Erling Haaland netting a hat-trick in a 3-1 win at West Ham United on Saturday – his second successive Premier League treble, taking his tally so far this term to a ridiculous seven goals in three games.
Emmanuel Petit was a key part of an Arsenal team that won the Premier League title in 1997/98, forming a vital midfield double act with Patrick Vieira, behind Dennis Bergkamp and Ian Wright up front.
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Petit with Wenger (Image credit: Alamy)
The Gunners legend is willing the club to win the title again this season, but admits some concerns about their striking options. Arsenal were linked with strikers during the transfer window, but didn’t ultimately sign an out-and-out centre forward.
“I hope they can win the league,” Petit told FourFourTwo, in an exclusive interview, speaking in association with BetVictor.
“I think they closed the gap to Manchester City in the last two years, but City are still the reference. You can see that from the start of the Premier League, they are still very good, with Haaland the cyborg up front!
Arsenal have picked up seven points from a possible nine (Image credit: Getty Images)
“Still Arsenal are missing a striker, we can see that. I saw the game against Brighton and even though I think Kai Havertz has made a really good start to the season, I think they miss someone in the penalty area, someone deep behind the defenders, someone that can bring option B up front.
“Sometimes I have the feeling that when Arsenal are not great, which happened on Saturday, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice didn’t play their best game, and when those two guys are not really good, it has an impact on the team.
“You can see that they’re missing option B because sometimes the way they play is predictable, so they need to change sometimes.
“They can still play the same way, but they need to bring more options into their game individually, starting from the striker.”
Chris joined FourFourTwo in 2015 and has reported from 20 countries, in places as varied as Jerusalem and the Arctic Circle. He's interviewed Pele, Zlatan and Santa Claus (it's a long story), as well as covering the World Cup, Euro 2020 and the Clasico. He previously spent 10 years as a newspaper journalist, and completed the 92 in 2017.
