Arsenal’s struggles are down to poor recruitment, not striker issues – Ex-Chelsea star slams Arteta
On Monday, March 10, former Chelsea player Craig Burley delivered a scathing assessment of Arsenal’s recent struggles, claiming manager Mikel Arteta is “running out of excuses.”
Burley argued that the team’s woes aren’t due to a lack of a striker or external factors, but because their recent signings have not lived up to expectations.
Despite being widely regarded as strong contenders for the Premier League title for two seasons, Arsenal now find themselves 15 points behind leaders Liverpool, with just 10 games left in the season. Their most recent match, a 1-1 draw, marked their third consecutive league game without a win.
Speaking on ESPN FC, Burley said, “It’s become quite an embarrassment from Arsenal in terms of this title challenge. They are now 15 points behind Liverpool. It’s not the referee’s fault, it’s not just because Bukayo Saka is injured, not because Kai Havertz is injured, not because everybody is against them, which was the mindset for a lot of this season.”
He continued, “How many saves did Onana make in that first half with all that possession for Arsenal? I can’t think of any. You’re not terrific if your end product is lackluster or non-existent. If you’re the biggest title challenger to Liverpool and this is the kind of performance you put in against one of the worst teams in the Premier League, which Manchester United are, I’m not having it that this is because they haven’t got a striker.”
Burley added that he couldn’t point to any incidents in the game that would have been resolved by a “clinical frontman.” Instead, he criticized the team’s overhit crosses, poor final balls, and ineffective shots from long range.
“This is not because they don’t have a frontman; this is because their recruitment in the summer wasn’t good enough. The excuses are running out for Arteta,” Burley concluded.
