Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admits he is ‘disappointed’ by the club’s failure to sign a striker… with title challengers left short in attack after unsuccessful £60m pursuit of Ollie Watkins

Mikel Arteta has refused to hide his disappointment after Arsenal failed to sign a striker in the winter transfer window.

Fans have been calling for the Gunners to strengthen in the final third in recent weeks, especially after injuries to Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus.

However, Arsenal were unable to bring in any players in the final days of the window, and Arteta has admitted he is unhappy with his lack of options up front.

‘We had a clear intention… we have not achieved it,’ Arteta said in his press conference ahead of tomorrow night’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Newcastle. 

‘We are disappointed in that sense.’

Arsenal had a shock £60m bid for Aston Villa‘s Ollie Watkins rejected last week, with their Premier League rivals unwilling to lose the England striker after selling Jhon Duran to Al-Nassr.

Arsenal wanted to sign Ollie Watkins but he ended up staying at Aston Villa

Arsenal were also keen on Alvaro Morata but he ended up joining Galatasaray

It has since emerged that Arsenal were keen on signing former Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata in the final days of the window, but he moved to Galatasaray.

They were also interested in Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel, only for the teenager to end up joining Tottenham on loan until the end of the season.

Kai Havertz is now expected to lead the line for the remainder of the season, despite an indifferent campaign in front of goal. 

The German international was on target in Arsenal’s 5-1 rout of Manchester City on Sunday, but also produced a glaring miss earlier in the game. 

There remain concerns that he is not the prolific goalscorer that Arsenal need if they are to chase down Liverpool in the title race.

Arteta’s men are currently six points behind the Reds and have played a game more than their rivals. 

They are also still involved in the Champions League and Carabao Cup as they bid to end their five-year wait for silverware, but their lack of firepower could come back to haunt them.

Arsenal have an uphill task to make the Carabao Cup final, as they need to overturn a two-goal deficit from last month’s first leg after wasting several big chances in their 2-0 defeat by Newcastle at the Emirates.