Ian Wright has told Andrea Berta to ‘get his book out’ ahead of the summer transfer window, claiming Arsenal are just ‘three or four players’ away from winning major trophies.
The Gunners were dumped out of the Champions League despite a spirited second-leg performance against PSG on Wednesday night, with the French champions progressing to the final with a 3-1 win on aggregate.
Gianluigi Donnarumma produced another incredible goalkeeping display to thwart Arsenal, denying both Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard with stunning saves before Fabian Ruiz broke the deadlock in Paris.
And while Bukayo Saka cancelled out Achraf Hakimi’s 72nd-minute effort to give the visitors a glimmer of hope, Luis Enrique’s men prevailed to book themselves a spot in this year’s final with Inter Milan.
The result means Arsenal will once again finish the campaign without lifting any silverware. The north Londoners were knocked out of the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup by Manchester United and Newcastle respectively, while Liverpool wrapped up the Premier League title last month.
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Barring two Community Shields triumphs, the 2019/20 FA Cup remains the only trophy won by Mikel Arteta across the Spaniard’s managerial reign at the Emirates.
‘I’m genuinely gutted, devastated for Mikel. With all those injuries, we still found the strength to drag ourselves to this level,’ legendary ex-Arsenal striker Wright said on the Wrighty’s House podcast following the side’s defeat to PSG.
‘In the end, over the two legs, you have to say, even though we had chances, I just feel like PSG deserved it.
‘The goalkeeper is brilliant and they took their chances.
‘I am so proud of them because I know what it means, the fans and everything.’
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An emotional Wright called on fans to ‘double down’ with their support for Arteta despite another trophyless season at the Emirates.
The former England forward is confident success is just around the corner, as long as the club – led by newly appointed sporting director Berta – recruit well in the upcoming transfer market.
‘We could finish second three times but we’re doing that with a team that he’s had to build, players that he’s had to move on. The way he has got the club together, got the fans involved,’ he added.
‘As Arsenal fans, we now have to double down on the support that we give to this manager and the team.
‘Look how close they got and they’re down to the bare bones.
‘We literally couldn’t bring anyone off the bench to help that game in the semi-final of a Champions League.
‘That is the only thing that I will point a finger at in respects of the recruitment and this is why I’m hoping that Andrea Berta has got his book out and he’s ready to go because we are three or four players away from winning the league and winning the Champions League.’
Arsenal have faced widespread criticism for repeatedly failing to bring in a proven No.9 in recent transfer windows – and Wright feels this is an area the club must address in what he hopes will be an ‘unbelievable’ summer.
‘You can say January, but you can go back further to the summer,’ he continued.
‘I think [Mikel] Merino has shown his worth. Obviously, [Riccardo] Calafiori has been out for quite a long time since he’s been there and that’s been a bit of a nightmare simply because we got [Takehiro] Tomiyasu from Bologna and he’s had problems with injuries. Calafiori is now having problems with injuries.
‘You think to yourself: was that the priority then? That window was the one where we should have been looking hard for the striker.
‘Especially with the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly in that Calafiori anyway, apart from maybe centre-back. But left-back going into midfield, we know that Calafiori can do that.
‘You look at the fact we’ve got Myles who can do that and that’s the window I will look back at.
‘We cannot not say that the injuries have not impacted us because I do believe it makes a massive difference to this season, not just this competition.
‘But at the same time I won’t make that excuse just like the manager hasn’t made the excuse.
‘It’s a learning curve. We need an unbelievable summer because you look at our team and we’re not a million miles away from it.’
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