%20rotate(-8.06)%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22336.19%20136.81%20330.16%2094.25%20326.06%2071.19%20326.44%2071.13%20335.22%2093.54%20352.29%20134.52%20373.95%20131.46%20362.7%2052.01%20350.02%2053.8%20356.05%2096.36%20360.15%20119.42%20359.77%20119.48%20350.99%2097.08%20333.91%2056.09%20312.25%2059.15%20323.51%20138.6%20336.19%20136.81%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22402.91%2059.3%20412.36%20126.02%20427.17%20123.92%20417.72%2057.21%20431.59%2055.24%20429.79%2042.51%20387.23%2048.53%20389.04%2061.27%20402.91%2059.3%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22463.51%20118.77%20458.69%2084.71%20474.68%2082.44%20479.51%20116.5%20494.36%20114.4%20483.11%2034.95%20468.26%2037.06%20472.96%2070.25%20456.96%2072.52%20452.26%2039.32%20437.4%2041.43%20448.65%20120.88%20463.51%20118.77%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22540.5%20107.87%20538.77%2095.68%20518.91%2098.49%20515.77%2076.29%20535.63%2073.47%20533.93%2061.5%20514.07%2064.32%20511.11%2043.42%20530.98%2040.61%20529.25%2028.42%20494.53%2033.34%20505.78%20112.78%20540.5%20107.87%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22299.03%20155.17%20301.29%20171.58%20542.78%20138.39%20540.5%20121.97%20299.03%20155.17%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E)
Gary Neville has delivered a brutal truth about Arsenal's injury crisis with the Gunners severely short on firepower.
Arsenal is now in the middle of an attacking crisis with the club forced to deploy midfielder Mikel Merino up top against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, and while that worked, it is hardly a great fix.
With the Gunners having no recognized striker fit, Mikel Arteta must now get creative in how he sets his team up for the rest of the year with Kai Havertz lost for the season with a hamstring injury.
In truth, every fan knew back in the summer that Arsenal lacked a proper goal scorer, and there were cries for the club to invest...but they didn't.
Then comes January, and with Arsenal worryingly thin at attacking positions, the club has a whole month to bring in reinforcements. Oddly enough, not a soul comes through the doors, and just days after the transfer window shut, Havertz goes down because, of course, right?
Make no mistake about it—this injury crisis is, in part, Arsenal's own doing. Sky Sports pundit and former Manchester United defender Gary Neville offered a brutal yet right truth about the Gunners' current attacking woes.
“I have got very little sympathy for Arsenal,” Neville said on Sky Sports. “They knew at the start of the season that they were short at centre forward, they’ve known about it. They’ve also had two title races, so they know what it's like, so this isn’t an inexperienced team anymore, not an inexperienced manager. We knew Arsenal lacked goals up top, they knew in the January transfer window that there was an issue there. They have to find a way, no excuses, you’ve been in the title race for two years on the bounce, you spent hundreds of millions, you knew you had a slight weakness at centre forward, you can’t act all surprised.”
It isn't often we agree with Neville on anything Arsenal related, but he's bang on the money here.
The club knew it was short on attacking options, both in the summer and in January, and failed to address it both times and now are in terribly shape in the middle of a title race.
There are no excuses because twice there were chances to bring in reinforcements and twice the Gunners kept the cash in their pocket. So, this is partly bad luck, but also partly Arsenal's fault for not investing in the squad.
No excuses? For once, Gary, you're right.