Arsenal legend Martin Keown told Mikel Arteta his side does not need another striker.
Before the Gunners’ Premier League opener against Wolves, Keown hit out at those who think they need a new centre-forward to displace Manchester City. For two seasons in a row, Arsenal have come within a whisker of winning the Premier League, finishing five points and two points behind Pep Guardiola’s side.
Riccardo Calafiori’s arrival has bolstered their defence, but many feel a new face in the goalscoring department is needed. Yet, Keown strongly disagrees with this assertion, citing the 91 goals Arsenal scored last season. He feels there are enough goalscorers in their attacking ranks to win the division.
In an interview with football.london at the FA Grassroots Football Awards at Wembley Stadium, Keown said: “I didn’t agree with that then (that Arsenal need a new striker) and I don’t agree with that now.
“I thought maybe it was a bit of lazy journalism because if you think about the number of goals that Arsenal were scoring, they were the second-highest scorers.
“In the end, Manchester City just pipped them, but they’re scoring enough goals. I think Kai Havertz was a revelation in the end. He looked good for Germany as well.”
Havertz scored 13 goals and seven assists in 37 Premier League appearances after starting his arsenal career with only one goal in 12 matches, a penalty against Bournemouth. While many have been talking about the possibility of signing another striker, others have forgotten about current Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah.
The former England international has scored some crucial goals for the Gunners, but his future hangs in the balance. He has already been linked to Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace this summer.
Nketiah hasn’t started a competitive match since New Year’s Eve when Arsenal lost 2-1 away at Fulham in the Premier League. Keown warned Arteta he may need a new striker if he decides to part with Nketiah. “I think let’s see what happens with Nketiah,” the ex-defender added.
“If he moves on there may be a sort of fox in the box who may arrive. We’ve heard all these terminologies before, haven’t we with Arsene Wenger? Sometimes, you do need another tool in the box, shall we say, to maybe unlock the door when things are tight and someone who is prolific in front of goal.
“I think there is plenty of goals coming in from the Arsenal team right now. But they need to do something, they need to close that gap. It was two points last year, five the year before. Whether that comes from the transfer market, whether that comes from the growth and development of the current group, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Before he focussed his attention towards the Premier League, Keown was at Wembley to award some of the country’s most talented volunteer coaches and officials at the Grassroots Football Awards. One of those was the inspirational Aisha Siddique, who scooped up the Young Volunteer of the Year award. After winning her award, she told football.london: “It’s an absolute honour. I feel really privileged to be here. I’m really humbled and a little overwhelmed.
With everything going on around the world nowadays, it makes it even more important. Being in a male-dominated field and being a hijab-wearing woman, it’s really important for me to show other women, who may be hesitant about going into football, that they can go into football coaching as well. It is my way of giving back a little.”
