Arsenal legend thinks Unai Emery humiliated Mikel Arteta with what Aston Villa just did

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Arsenal are all but out of the Premier League title race as Mikel Arteta continues to find a way to juggle his limited resources.

Arteta was failed by the Arsenal board in both the summer and winter transfer windows, leading to what has been a wake-up call campaign at the Emirates. 

Sitting 11 points behind Liverpool, Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League title are slim, not eased by the demoralising defeat to West Ham most recently. 

It’s a punishing serving of reality for the Gunners, who look set to miss out on the Premier League title for the third consecutive season but, such lows could’ve been avoided.

• READ MORE: Ian Wright questions Arsenal and Liverpool injury ‘luck’ during Premier League title battle

Ian Wright fires warning to Arsenal after January transfer failures

Arsenal signed no players in the January transfer window, despite there being a plea from Arteta to recruit a forward.

Shortly after the window closed, Kai Havertz sustained a season-ending injury, ruling Arsenal’s two strikers out for the campaign and leaving Arteta low on attacking resources. 

There was an argument that Arsenal couldn’t locate a suitable target in January, which has since shown up the club’s recruitment team as other Premier League clubs managed to find solutions.

Ian Wright weighed in on the failures in January when discussing Arsenal’s league-losing defeat to West Ham, comparing the Gunners’ business to the likes of Aston Villa and Manchester City.

“The summer [transfer window] was that we missed a trick, we should’ve had a striker,” Wright said on the Wrighty’s House podcast. 

“I think people constantly go on about, well, you can’t get the players in January. We’ve seen Villa, Villa have done it. We’ve seen City have done it. You can get the players if you want to get the players. How much are you willing to pay?”

Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery certainly outwitted his former club in the January window, welcoming two marquee attacking signings in Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio.

The results are already there for Villa, who have seen the loan duo contribute heavily early into their careers at Villa Park, proving that there were indeed inspired forwards who could’ve helped Arsenal.

Wright has aired his frustration at the board before and once again, was pointing fingers with regard to the lack of desire shown in the winter market.

Aston Villa and Man City send transfer message to Arsenal 

It wasn’t just Villa who recruited sufficiently in the winter, but also Man City, who realised what they needed after a poor start to 2024/25.

Such attention to detail was not traceable to Arsenal, who are learning the hard way when it comes to failing to recruit at a time of need. 

Rashford is shining under Emery at Villa, as is Asensio, with Omar Marmoush flying at Man City early into his Premier League career.

Why was it that Arsenal’s rivals were able to recruit three top forwards in the winter without a response from the Gunners?

The topic infuriates Wright as it does plenty of Arsenal fans, with there a lot to be answered for in the summer.