Arsenal ‘should have signed Championship star’ after £30m transfer ‘mistake’

Teddy Sheringham believes Arsenal should have turned to a Championship player in January and says the decision to sell Eddie Nketiah last summer was ‘astounding’. The Gunners decided to sign academy graduate Nketiah to London rivals Crystal Palace, raising £30m for a striker who scored 38 goals in 168 appearances for the club. Nketiah featured heavily during his final season at the Emirates Stadium but there were doubts he was at the level required to lead the line for an Arsenal team competing for major honours.

The 25-year-old has endured a dismal spell at Selhurst Park, scoring just twice this season – both goals coming in cup competitions – but Sheringham still believes it was a mistake for Arsenal to sell him. The ex-England striker says Nketiah would have been an ideal option for Mikel Arteta, who tried to sign a new frontman during the January transfer window. Arsenal were linked with moves for Ollie Watkins, Benjamin Sesko, Alexander Isak and Dusan Vlahovic last month and even had a bid rejected for the Aston Villa star.

The Gunners failed to bolster Arteta’s attacking options and Sheringham says they should have compromised and signed ‘someone like’ Patrick Bamford. Bamford has struggled for regular game-time this season under Leeds United boss Daniel Farke but has been one of the most consistent goalscorers in the EFL over the past decade, scoring 122 goals in 386 games. The 31-year-old has more than 100 Premier League appearances, scoring 24 goals in the English top-flight.

‘I’m astounded they let Eddie Nketiah join Crystal Palace, because he is the type of player that scores goals, I think he is a young Ian Wright,’ Sheringham told finaria.it. ‘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. ‘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 Championship player that is a decent goalscorer. Could even be Patrick Bamford, someone like that. ‘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.’. Having already lost Gabriel Jesus to a season-ending ACL injury, Arsenal are now sweating over the fitness of Kai Havertz who has picked up a problem during the club’s warm-weather training camp in Dubai.