Arsenal are set to ignore club legend Thierry Henry's plea for a new striker in the January transfer window.
The Gunners strengthened their title hopes with an emphatic 5-1 win over Manchester City on Sunday. It kept Mikel Arteta's side within six points of Liverpool and was a confidence-boosting result for Arsenal as they seek to catch the league leaders.
Kai Havertz was one of the goal scorers at the Emirates Stadium, firing in his 15th goal of the season across all competitions. Arsenal’s focal point of attack has often been a contentious issue, given Havertz’s perceived lack of clinical edge. Gabriel Jesus has also suffered a season-ending injury, and Bukayo Saka remains sidelined with a hamstring problem.
While there were no signs of attacking problems in Arsenal’s rout over City, Henry called on the club not to gloss over their centre-forward issue. However, despite Henry's protestations, the Gunners seemingly have no plans to bring in a striker before tonight’s 11pm transfer deadline.
It has been reported by talkSPORT that Arsenal were only willing to recruit if any of their long-term targets became available, which is unlikely to happen on the final day of the transfer window. Arteta is claimed to be relaxed about his striking options due to Havertz’s goal tally despite the club submitting a bid for Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins last week.
"There's one thing I wanted to mention as an Arsenal man. Always Arsenal fans say to me, we need a nine. Nobody is going to ask for a nine after this game,” Henry told Sky Sports on Sunday.
"Yeah, they should still ask. It's not because you won 5-1 that you don't need a nine. We've been, as Arsenal fans, asking for a nine for two years, four transfer windows.
“We still didn't see it. You can't be calling for a nine when you can't put the ball in the back of the net and then when you do, forget it,” he continued.
"You call for a nine all the time. I don't often believe in the January transfer window, that's only me. I keep saying all the time, sometimes you don't get the player you want, wait for it, and go and get it in the summer. We haven't done that yet."
Arsenal have scored 49 goals so far this season, four less than at this stage last season and seven fewer than current leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand. The Gunners have also been linked with RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko and Bayern Munich's Mathys Tel this month, among many others.
Despite Henry's call for reinforcements, it seems Arsenal will have to rely on Havertz’s goals to deliver a long-awaited league title. The Gunners are next in action on Wednesday as they look to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Newcastle United to reach the Carabao Cup final.