Teddy Sheringham believing Eddie Nketiah to be “a young Ian Wright” is only the second most ridiculous thing he said while discussing Arsenal’s striker injury crisis.
The Gunners were looking to land a new striker in January but didn’t try all that hard, with the sum total of their efforts a derisory £40m bid for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.
And it’s come back to bite them, with Kai Havertz now joining fellow forwards Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka on the sidelines having torn his hamstring while on their Dubai training camp.
David Ornstein broke the news in The Athletic that Havertz is ‘set to miss the rest of the season’, he wrote:
‘It is unclear yet whether the 25-year-old will require surgery on the problem but his focus is on getting fit for the start of the 2025-26 season.
‘Havertz’s expected absence adds to Arsenal’s issues in their forward line. Bukayo Saka travelled with the squad to Dubai but is expected to be out until March after undergoing hamstring surgery in December.
‘Gabriel Martinelli is not anticipated to return for around a month after picking up a hamstring injury of his own against Newcastle United on February 5 and Gabriel Jesus faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in his left knee last month.’
Sheringham reckons the Gunners made a mistake in the summer by allowing academy graduate Nketiah to leave and not sourcing a replacement.
“I’m astounded they let [Eddie] Nketiah join Palace, because he is the type of player that scores goals, I think he is a young Ian Wright,” Sheringham told Italian outlet Finaria. “Obviously not ready to lead the line full-time for Arsenal, but to throw him in every now and again.
“When you’re beating an Everton 2-0, throw Eddie in and let him score a couple, have a couple of chances, get his confidence up. When you play against Crystal Palace at home, you win 3-0, throw Eddie in, get him a goal, get him a bit of confidence.
“He’s a goal scorer. He comes alive in the box. That’s what Arsenal need, from my perspective. They need a goal scorer in those vital moments to convert all the chances that they make. So, to not have anyone in their ranks that they could do that with, is astounding.”
Sheringham believes Arsenal just need someone, literally anyone, to be a fox in the box to put chances away.
He added: “You can’t have the whole country saying they need a striker, it doesn’t have to be a top player. Just someone who offers around the six-yard box to convert chances. It could even be a Championshipplayer that is a decent goalscorer. Could even be Patrick Bamford, someone like that.
“We need a goal in the last 20 minutes, you go after the ball around this penalty spot, six yard box, go and score a goal like you do. You can score a goal, go and score a goal’. They haven’t got anyone that’s a natural goal scorer. You know, it doesn’t have to be the best. Just the type of player that they can throw in there.”
Bamford has made ten appearances for Leeds in the Championship this season, none of them starts, and is yet to score a goal.