Thierry Henry and Ian Wright are two of Arsenal’s most iconic strikers (Image: Getty)
have been told their striker woes are so extreme that not even legendary goal-getters Thierry Henry or could help their misfiring forwards.
Emmanuel Petit, who spent three years playing under Arsene Wenger’s team before joining Barcelona in 2000, played alongside Henry and Wright during his time in north London.
And the Frenchman believes appointing the legendary pair wouldn’t do much to help improve their finishing.
The Gunners were guilty of missing several gilt-edged chances against in their 2-0 home defeat in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg, with Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon proving to be more clinical in finding the net.
has spent £110million trying to fix the issue by signing and Gabriel Jesus during his five-year reign at the Emirates Stadium, but the pair have proved to be far from prolific.
But it may prove to be a necessity for Arteta to sign a striker, and Petit claimed their current crop’s issues may well be beyond simple coaching.
“What could Thierry Henry or Ian Wright do to help Gabriel Jesus or ? I’m not convinced about them coming back to to help coach the forwards how to be more clinical,” Petit said, speaking to DisCasino.
“Their advice won’t change the attitude they play with on the pitch, it’s all about confidence and the right decisions at the right time.
Kai Havertz blanked as Arsenal lost 2-0 to Newcastle (Image: Getty)
“You can score many penalties in a training session, but in a long game, where you’re tired, feel pressure from the cameras and fans, it won’t be the same situation.”
Havertz, who missed two glorious chances to score in that game on Tuesday night, has 26 goals in 77 appearances since his £65m switch from . Jesus has the same number of goals as his team-mate, but the Brazilian has featured in more games (95).
Several high-profile names have been linked with a move to the Emirates, ranging from Viktor Gyokeres to Dusan Vlahovic, with ‘s failure to sign a regular goalscorer often proving to be the difference in their title battles with .
However, Petit thinks Arteta can draw on his experience from when he worked at City under to eradicate the issue, with the title such an important objective for the Spaniard.
Emmanuel Petit has questioned Arsenal’s strikeforce (Image: Getty)
” need to look at their system and copy the way played in 2018-19 where they had multiple players score 10 or more goals, then you don’t need a striker,” Petit added.
“It’s very important for to win a trophy with this season. There is still a chance to compete for the and the Champions League, anything can happen very quickly in football, but Arteta needs to win something.
” have been so close to winning the , and they need to get over the line. If they can’t get over the line, players and staff will find it hard to stay motivated. You can’t keep saying ‘we’re going to win something’ and not win anything at all.
“Motivation is the big factor that Arteta will need to worry about, especially after all the work he’s put into this project.”