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Chris Sutton says Mikel Arteta has done something ‘totally unacceptable’ at Arsenal

Charles Jones

Tue 13 May 2025 12:45, UK

This season hasn’t quite gone to plan for Arsenal.

Indeed, it’s been another campaign without silverware for Mikel Arteta’s side, and it’s not hard to pinpoint where Arsenal’s issues have lay this season.

Arsenal’s striking situation is a problem.

The Gunners will sign a new number nine this summer, as Kai Havertz’s injury has highlighted the club’s lack of depth up front.

Alexander Isak is an Arsenal target heading into the summer, but, the reality is, the Gunners should never have been in this situation.

Speaking on the BBC Radio Five Live Football Daily Podcast, Chris Sutton has been discussing Arsenal’s striking issues, and he says it’s simply unacceptable that Arsenal have got to this point where Mikel Merino is playing up front.

Chris Sutton says Mikel Merino situation is unacceptable

Sutton spoke about Arsenal’s striker situation and the fact Mikel Merino has had to play up front lately.

Merino has earned praise for his role in the attack, but according to Sutton, it’s ridiculous that Arsenal have had to resort to this.

“But that’s something he should have seen and should have affected last summer, the whole striker thing. And something they should have made a play for, somebody in that position. For Arsenal, when you actually think about this, for Arsenal to have to resort to, and Merino did well, but have to resort to playing a player who had never played as a centre forward and just throw him up, that’s amateur hour, really,” Sutton said.

“Absolute amateur hour. And to be there five years and to be in that situation, and you can talk about injuries, that’s totally unacceptable. And they are the margins and something he could have and should have affected.

“So we can’t talk about luck when he’s not doing his own job, probably.”

Arsenal’s attacking depth compared to rivals

Sutton says it’s amateurish that Arsenal have had to play a midfielder up front towards the end of this season, but, the reality is most clubs would be in the same situation if they suffered two big injuries.

Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz are both out for the season, and most other top Premier League teams would be scrambling for strikers if their two first-choice options went down.

Man City, Newcastle, Chelsea and Manchester United all don’t have that sort of attacking depth, and if they had two injuries to their strikers, they’d be looking at changing certain players’ positions or using youngsters.

Arsenal do need more attacking depth, that’s blatantly obvious, but it does feel rather harsh to blame the Gunners for these two key injuries.