Piers Morgan slams Mikel Arteta in 15-word expletive rant after Kai Havertz injury

Arsenal superfan Piers Morgan has been left fuming today amid news of an injury to Kai Havertz, slamming the club’s management for their management of fitness problems this term.

The Athletic reporter David Ornstein confirmed news of a hamstring injury to Havertz this morning in a huge blow for the Gunners. Brazil international Gabriel Jesus is already out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury while starboy Bukayo Saka isn’t expected back until March.

That had already left Arteta short of striking options, leading to a desperate late January transfer bid for Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins. The Villains laughed off a £40 million offer for the England international ahead of Deadline Day.

Piers Morgan fumes at Arsenal ‘management’

Already six points behind league leaders Liverpool, the Gunners now face trying to make up that distance without a clear option to lead their frontline. It’s a worrying time at the Emirates Stadium and one that has got to Morgan.

Taking to social media platform X on Wednesday, the former Britain’s Got Talent judge wrote: “FFS. We now have zero strikers for rest of the season. Shocking failure of management.”

That was in reply to Ornstein’s confirmation of the Havertz injury blow. The journalist had posted: “Kai Havertz set to miss rest of season through injury. Arsenal forward suffered torn hamstring during training at #AFC camp in Dubai. Unclear if 25yo Germany international will require surgery but focus is getting fit for 2025-26 campaign.”

The Gunners had been enjoying a luxurious week-and-a-half without first team action, having already been knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United last weekend. It had been hoped that Mikel Arteta could use the time before the meeting with Leicester City on Saturday to regroup.

Arsenal superfan urges Newcastle United transfer

Morgan has been passionate in his calls for Arsenal to sign a new striker, even calling into talkSPORT to urge the club to ‘break the bank’ and sign Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak. He said: “How many times have I been on your show in the last three years since [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang got shoved out the door?

“He was a genuinely world class striker who had an incredible scoring record for Arsenal. All right, Arteta didn’t want him, that’s fine, so who are you going to replace him with?

"And the reality is, I’ve very calmly and politely suggested that we need to sign a proper striker, but the days of calm are now over, gentlemen. We need a bloody striker! A proper one!

"I would literally go right now with a barrel-load of cash and drive to Newcastle and break the bank to sign Alexander Isak. £100million, £120m, £140m, £150m – I don’t care. I will find the players from our 87 defenders that we’ve signed in the last two years to make up the cash for the PSR stuff.

“The way we play, the chances we create – do you know how many shots we’ve had this week? 49 shots. Do you know how many goals we’ve scored? One. Do you know who scored it? Gabriel, a central defender. If that doesn’t tell you something, I don’t know what does.

“We do not have a proper striker and one of our two makeshift strikers in Gabriel Jesus now looks like he’s out for the season which is heartbreaking for him after the last injury and I feel incredibly sorry for him.

“The idea that Kai Havertz will be the guy to win us big trophies leading the line for Arsenal is for the birds and every Arsenal fan knows it. Why doesn’t Mikel Arteta know it? Why does he entrust everything in this guy who is a perfectly good footballer, but he’s not a number nine. He’s not a striker."

In other news, Crystal Palace are racing Rangers to sign a League One talent in what would be a ‘classic’ Eagles transfer swoop.