The January transfer window is fast approaching and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has already been told the position he badly needs to upgrade in his Gunners squad
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been urged to find a replacement for Kai Havertz amid a warning over the Gunners’ title chances.
Havertz arrived at the Emirates in a £65million deal from Chelsea in the summer of 2023. He has taken the role of Arsenal’s leading striker this season, but has scored just four goals in the Premier League.
The Gunners are the joint-lowest scorers in the top six and are currently nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool. The January transfer window may present a chance to address their scoring problems with a new striker top of the agenda.
Former Arsenal captain William Gallas certainly believes a new forward is needed as he took aim at Havertz’s place in the squad. Gallas has urged his old side to sign Victor Osimhen and dump Havertz out of the starting line-up.
“Kai Havertz has never ever been the right man to take Arsenal to the Premier League title,” Gallas told Genting Casino. “Havertz is a good player, but he’s not top class. I’m sorry, but he’s nowhere near a world-class level, Arsenal need a player to replace him at striker.
“I still don’t understand why Victor Osimhen is at Galatasaray. Arsenal need a striker like Osimhen, the club needs to wake up, it’s obvious and simple, they need a striker. You need a strong squad to compete with each other.
“That’s how Man City and Liverpool stay at such a high level, if you have the same starting XI every week then the performances level will drop. All the Man City players are international players and even the ones on the bench, that’s the level Arsenal need to reach.”
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While Gallas is adamant that Havertz needs to be replaced, boss Mikel Arteta remains firmly behind the German. His last goal came in a win over Southampton back at the start of October.
Speaking after that strike, the Gunners chief made it clear that Havertz is a key part of his squad. Arteta hailed the German international for becoming a role model within the side with his approach to the game.
“I think he’s an amazing role model,” Arteta said. “The way he behaves every day, the way he is as a person, the way he lives his life, how much he loves to play football to compete. Again, part of that at this level is to handle and manage difficult situations.
“I think he’s an amazing example of that. We believed that he could do it. He had qualities that we were certainly lacking but it was a big question mark because he wasn’t producing what we required at this level a year ago, two years ago.
“We believed that a change of environment could affect him in a really positive way. You have a player that is going to try his very best to try and accomplish the objectives and then you have to make it work. It was a difficult start, but at the moment we’re in a great place.”
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