Ian Wright 'Gutted' Over Arsenal's Missed Chance to Sign Morgan Rogers
Ian Wright has laid bare his frustration at Arsenal’s failure to land Morgan Rogers, admitting he was “gutted” to see the forward end up at Chelsea in a £117m deal after weeks of Gunners interest.
Arsenal spent the summer hunting for another attacking spark, even after wrapping up an early move for Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge. The brief was clear: add a high-end difference-maker to an attack already built around Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz.
Names flew around the recruitment meetings. Morgan Rogers. Vinicius Junior. Julian Alvarez. All high on Arsenal’s list. None of them walked through the doors at London Colney.
Instead, Mikel Arteta’s side strengthened in other areas. Bruno Guimaraes arrived to bolster midfield. Ezri Konsa came in to deepen the defensive options. Smart, serious signings. But not the forward Arteta had been openly craving.
Speaking on The Overlap, Wright didn’t hide how that felt from a former striker’s perspective.
“It’s not a disastrous window,” he said, “but if I’m Mikel, I wouldn’t be happy with how this window has gone simply because we’ve gone another window where we have not got that forward.
“Mikel has talked about getting players to take us to that level, he did it again after Paris, where we didn’t have that player to break them. That is the player Mikel wanted. They chased Vini until the end of the earth and left Morgan Rogers dangling.”
For Wright, the issue cuts deeper than just one missed signing. Arsenal, he believes, are risking their title ambitions by failing to secure the left-sided attacker Arteta has been pushing for.
“You say we have got those types of players but that is what Mikel wanted. It is a position where we need that player,” Wright continued. “Of course Saka is back, Odegaard is back, Havertz is back and playing together, but he wanted that difference-maker.
“He [Rogers] is the one we were linked with ages ago and he would have loved to have come, I can feel it.”
The way the saga unfolded clearly irks him. Arsenal’s relentless pursuit of Vinicius Junior, he suggested, may have sent the wrong message to other targets.
“There’s something that’s happened with Arsenal with the way they were going for Vini,” Wright said. “If you’re a player and you see a team going for him, you think, ‘I thought they were interested in me?’ It is the player the manager wanted. Chelsea thought, well if you’re not going to pay it, we’ll pay it. I’m gutted, I would have loved him to come.”
Rogers’ move to Stamford Bridge has added extra spice to an already loaded fixture: Arsenal’s next Premier League game is away at Chelsea this weekend, with both sides talked up as title contenders.
Peter Crouch expects the blue corner to land the heavier blows.
“Great game! Two teams looking good as well,” Crouch said. “I’m going to put the cat amongst the pigeons and I’m going to go for a 3-2 Chelsea win. I think they’ve announced themselves as title contenders.”
Arsenal, still chasing that elusive left-sided game-changer, may have to prove they can go the distance without the forward their manager – and one of their greatest strikers – believed would take them over the top.
