VICTORY, they say, has a thousand fathers. Defeat is an orphan.
But if Arsenal’s failure to recruit the striker the fans have been crying out for for a year or more does now end up costing them the silverware they crave, the guilt must be shared by the quartet at the heart of the decision-making process.
A manager and four executives. Mikel Arteta. Richard Garlick. Jason Ayto. Tim Lewis. Josh Kroenke. The men who run the club.
And who, now, surely must be regretting the decision not to splash the cash for a front man, either last summer, or last month.
The loss of Kai Havertz for the rest of the season is more than just a kick in the guts.
On top of the previous injuries to Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli, it feels like a potentially fatal blow.
What will follow, too, is the blame game. A question of where the responsibility lies.
Arteta will doubtless point to his own words, delivered last month, after Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead against Aston Villa.
A couple of hours before that game, Liverpool boss Arne Slot sent on Darwin Nunez and the Uruguayan scored twice in stoppage time to break Brentford’s resistance.
Then the Arsenal bench against Villa was made up of Raheem Sterling, three senior defenders, reserve keeper Neto, Jorginho – who is set to depart in the summer – and three kids with less than half an hour of first-team football between them.
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Sending out a clear message, Arteta said: “With the numbers we have in the squad and looking at our bench, I’m very worried.
“Liverpool were able to make subs to change the game. It was the opposite for us.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Arsenal wonderkid Lewis-Skelly’s mum reveals he’s ‘still on washing-up duty’… and how she nearly missed Man City goal” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6368387676112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Arsenal fans had seen the links with Newcastle’s in-form Alexander Isak and RB Leipzig’s Slovenian striker Benjamin Sesko.
Even with Havertz available, the supporters were united in the view that Arsenal needed something else – a genuine No9.
Instead, they waited until it was too late, launching a bid for Ollie Watkins as Aston Villa were sealing the deal to send Jhon Duran to Saudi Arabia.
Unai Emery would have been unlikely to want to do his old club a favour in ANY circumstances. And definitely not at that point in the window, with the Duran deal completely closing the door.
Arteta, having raised the issue, did not force the point, did not demand a signing, did not order those above him to spend the money they had available.
Misguided, foolish, or plain reckless? Whatever your choice, it is on the manager.
It is also on those above Arteta, the men who make the final decisions.
From the outside, it appears that Arsenal have struggled to properly align themselves internally after two key departures – one expected, the other coming out of the blue.
Last summer, after 14 years, managing director Vinai Venkatesham left the Emirates.
While that was signposted, with Garlick, highly regarded and who had joined the club from the Premier League in 2021, stepping up, it meant the loss of a smart and savvy operator.
Then, in November, former Gunners midfielder Edu – Arteta’s point-man on the board as sporting director – unexpectedly announced he was off to pastures new – likely to eventually be as chief lieutenant to Nottingham Forest and Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis.
It meant a swift appointment ahead of the winter window, for Ayto in an “interim” role.
Ayto has been part of the club for a decade, initially as a scout before working under Edu and is viewed internally as a critical part of the club’s future.
Yet, despite that faith, could an interim really have the clout to make things happen if there is resistance about spending money?
Lewis, who has been an advisor to owner Stan Kroenke since 2007, has assumed more and more responsibility at Arsenal since his appointment as executive vice chairman in 2023.
It is Lewis who now is the “face” of the club at many of the meetings with rivals at home and abroad. That he is a serious businessman is unquestioned.
But he is not a figure like David Dein was for Arsene Wenger, a mover and shaker who was a fan at heart and would always want to give the manager what he wanted.
Kroenke Jr has been his father’s main man at the club over a protracted period, a direct line to the fellow who really counts.
Between them, they decided not to act, taking a calculated risk, crossing their fingers and hoping that the injury worst would not happen, presumably biding their time to get the striker they really want in the summer.
Despite the club being due to announce record revenues of £605.5m for last season – and that figure is certain to rise again this term – concerns about Arsenal’s PSR position remain.
Yet chances to win the Prem do not come every year. There is often a narrow opening, a fleeting opportunity, that must be taken.
Plenty of Arsenal fans were already thinking that the lack of a 20-goal striker last term meant their club fell short.
And this season, with Manchester City falling off their perch, Chelsea, Manchester United and Spurs in various stages of undress and the post-Jurgen Klopp Liverpool the only team they had to beat, it may be even more the case.
Arsenal could, still, win the Prem or the Champions League.
But it suddenly feels even less likely. Fingers will be pointed. Rightly so.