‘Mikel Arteta to hide behind Kai Havertz for Arsenal failure’
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will now be able to “hide” from scrutiny if his side fail to win the Premier League title this season, Simon Jordan has claimed.
The Gunners currently face an uphill battle if they are to overhaul Liverpool in the race for top spot in England this season.
They have also been dealt another blow after it emerged that striker Kai Havertz has been ruled out for the remainder of the Arsenal season through injury, leaving many Arsenal fans gutted.
However it has now been claimed that this latest setback could have a silver lining for Arteta if things do not work out for his side between now and the end of the season.
‘Mikel Arteta handed easy get out with Arsenal blow’
Havertz‘s injury sees him join the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus on their long list of attacker currently unavailable due to injury.
That has left Arteta sorely lacking in attacking options to turn to, after a quiet period in the transfer market during January.
Despite making a bid for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins in late January, Arsenal failed to bring in any new signings before the window closed on the 3 February.
Now though, Jordan believes that will help the Gunners boss avoid criticism if they do not lift any titles come the end of this season, despite the growing desire for silverware at the Emirates.
Speaking on talkSPORT the potential impact of the injury to Havertz, the former Crystal Palace chairman said: “It’s going to enable Arteta to hide in the long grass and have a justification for Arsenal not winning the league this year and it might be a legitimate one, but it’s going to take the heat off him in some respects.
“Because people are not going to expect him to win the league now because he’s bereft of strikers.”
Kai Havertz injury takes the heat off Gunners boss
Football Insider Verdict
In some ways this setback could end up helping Arteta if his side do not pick up a trophy in the coming months.
With Arsenal getting increasingly close to that sort of success in recent years, there is a growing expectation for them to claim a title in the near future.
Pressure would therefore ordinarily grow on Arteta if he could not do that between now and the end of the campaign, given they have not won anything since the FA Cup in 2020.
But with yet another attacking injury now on the cards with Havertz out for the season, some may be inclined to give the Spaniard a bit of a pass.
There will be a sense that he has simply not been given the players needed to win a title, which could instead shirt the scrutiny on to those in charge of recruitment at the club.
Even if that is the case, with the emphasis growing on Arsenal to be active in the transfer market in the summer, the pressure will undoubtedly be right back on Arteta by next season.