Fabrizio Romano issues Arsenal striker transfer update amid 'confidence crisis' claim

Arsenal’s search for a new striker goes on heading into the winter transfer window deadline day. The Gunners have been left short at the top end of the pitch after losing Gabriel Jesus for the season, while Bukayo Saka is going to be out until at least late March.

The Gunners are currently heavily relying upon Kai Havertz, and while the German does play an important role in Mikel Arteta’s system, he is not a natural goal-scorer.

That was made clear again during Arsenal’s huge win over Manchester City on Sunday, with Havertz having a massive opportunity, facing a goalkeeper and a defender on the line only to place the ball wide of the post, missing the target altogether. That led Gary Neville to claim Havertz was having a confidence crisis while speaking on the Sky Sports commentary. He said: "He didn't want it! Havertz is having a confidence crisis."

Having said that, Havertz went on to redeem himself by producing a much better finish for Arsenal’s fourth, and he also assisted the first goal, so in terms of all-round performance, Arteta will have been happy with what he saw. Neville added after the goal: "It is such a big moment for him! For Havertz, he didn't have much time to think about it. It's natural."

Meanwhile, the search for a new striker goes on, with Arteta having said when asked about a failed Ollie Watkins bid: “You know I'm not going to talk about any individuals. As I said, we're actively looking productively to find a solution in that position and we'll see what the market brings.”

Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel looks to be the most realistic option at this stage, although Manchester United have reportedly stolen a march in that particular race, while the likes of Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Alexander Isak are not on the table, and Aston Villa don’t look as though they will consider selling Ollie Watkins.

Asked about the latest in the search by GiveMeSport, Fabrizio Romano has said: "It's not an easy one, to be honest, for Arsenal, because they've been thinking of a big investment, for example, a player like Sesko. Clubs like Newcastle for Alexander Isak, RB Leipzig for Sesko, they don't want to lose their superstars in the final days of the window.

“So it looks difficult to go for that kind of player, and probably that kind of investment will be made in the summer. So Sesko and Isak remain players they want, but for the summer transfer window. Let's see if Arsenal can find an opportunity."

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