Campbell makes ‘Mothercare’ jibe as Arsenal ‘play Russian roulette’

Kevin Campbell claims Arsenal are “playing Russian roulette” having not signed a striker in January and have thinned their squad to the point where the bench could look like an “advert for Mothercare”.

The Gunners failed to sign anyone in the January transfer window but saw 11 players leave the club, including five members of the first team squad.

READ MORE: January 2022 Premier League transfer window: the losers

The highest profile exit saw Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leave for Barcelona on a free transfer.

Aubameyang was a predictable departure having been stripped of the Arsenal captaincy and jettisoned from first team training after a number of disciplinary breaches.

Mikel Arteta and Edu had focused their efforts on attempting to bring in a striker to replace the Gabon international, but failed in their pursuit of top target Dusan Vlahovic, leaving them little time to force through a move for an alternative.

It leaves Arteta with just Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah as options to lead the line for Arsenal, both of whom are available to leave for free in the summer.

Campbell believes it was a huge risk not signing a striker in January, and claims the club are playing a “difficult game”.

He told Sky Sports: “If Aubameyang had stayed at the club he’s still an asset, he still would have been the best striker at the football club, so maybe you try and mend that bridge.

“But obviously things broke down to a point where they thought it was right to get him out of the club and there were two or three takers for Aubameyang. He wanted to go to Spain, Barcelona obliged, Arsenal got the deal done and they move on.

“I think Lacazette and Nketiah isn’t strong enough. Lacazette is obviously very experienced and a very good player. Nketiah is not the answer – he’s going to be leaving in the summer.

“I think Arsenal should have done business. They’ve been linked with Vlahovic, Isak and a whole host of strikers, but they’ve brought nobody in. I think they’re playing a bit of Russian roulette.

“There’s holes in the squad, even more holes now as they’ve thinned the squad down tremendously.

“The Arsenal bench could look like an advert for Mothercare with bottles and Farleys Rusks with the amount of youngsters they could have. It’s a very difficult game Arsenal are playing.”