Ian Wright urges Arsenal to make transfer move to save season | OneFootball

Ian Wright has implored the Arsenal board to back Mikel Arteta in the January transfer window to salvage their season.

Arsenal sustained their first defeat at home since April when slipping to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.

They had previously dropped more valuable points in the Premier League title race at Brighton on Saturday when held to a 1-1 draw, a result that left them six points behind leaders Liverpool, who also have a game in hand.

Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli both missed golden opportunities in Tuesday night’s loss to Newcastle, while Arteta’s forward resources have been hit by injuries to Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri.

After witnessing another performance which lacked a clinical edge in front of goal, Wright launched an impassioned plea for the club’s hierarchy to invest in January.

“You’ve got to look at the board now,” ITV pundit Wright said. “I don’t know what you do but you’ve got to try and do something.

“He [Arteta] needs help. I know it’s very difficult in this January window, but he needs something else because if it’s going to carry on like this, it’s going to be very difficult to score.

“We’re not scoring with the corners, we’re not scoring with the chances we’re making, something needs to change. Something needs to happen.”

Arsenal boss Arteta agreed and told Sky Sports after the defeat that the difference between the sides was the visitors’ potency in front of goal.

“That was the biggest difference (being clinical) in the game. In every other aspect, we were the better team. They scored two goals and credit to them as they managed to win the game like this.”