You wasted your money, you should have caught the striker. Former Arsenal legend Petty lashed out at Arteta for recruiting defenders in the summer transfer window

Jan 16, 2025

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'Arteta wasted money!'

Arsenal seems to be moving away from winning the English Premier League (EPL) again this season. Now, he is also one point behind Nottingham Forest (41 points), ranking third in the league. He is seven points behind Liverpool (47 points) in first place.

It can't be seen as a catch-up gap, but Arsenal's recent performance seems quite difficult. Arsenal has not won in three consecutive official matches (one draw and two losses). Arsenal, who drew 1-1 in the 20th round of the EPL against Brighton on the 5th, suffered consecutive losses to Newcastle United and Manchester United in the EFL Cup and FA Cup, respectively.

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Regarding this sluggishness, it was pointed out that the reason was the failure to properly recruit players in the summer transfer market last year. Emmanuel Petty, who is remembered as a legend for Arsenal and the French national team, criticized Arsenal for 'spending money on useless things'.

British media Daily Star reported on the 15th (Korea time) that Arsenal was accused of wasting money after Arteta said the recruitment of 42 million pounds (about 75.2 billion won) was a mistake.

Left-back Ricardo Calafior (25), who was hired by Arteta for £42 million from the transfer market last summer after a long wait, is at the center of criticism. As a result, it has not helped Arsenal to win the league.

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The person who criticized this is Petty, a former Arsenal legend. He thought it would have been better to bring the striker with the money that Arsenal and Arteta spent on recruiting Calafior. In a recent interview with Casino Utan Spelforth, Petty insisted "Asnall should have addressed the lack of strikers in the transfer window last summer".

"I know that you can raise the level of your team through a few players. However, Arsenal already had three players who could play at left-back", he pointed out. Petty continued, "I understand that if you have to play every three days and play every tournament, the squat depth has to get bigger, but still, the striker position had to be a priority."."

Petty's comments came after Arsenal lost the FA Cup at home to Manchester United. Arsenal exposed their problems in defence and ended up losing the penalty match. Calafiori, which invested £42 million, did not perform much.

Italian-born Calafiori played outstandingly at Euro 2024 and moved from Bologna to Arsenal. However, he played only 16 games this season due to calf and knee injuries. Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu joined the side lineup after being injured.

Arsenal ranks fifth in the league with 39 points this season. The loss is the fewest in the league with 18 points. The defense is excellent, but the scoring ability is somewhat weak. As Petty pointed out, if he recruited a strong striker during the transfer market last summer, he may have performed better.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.