Arsenal would be "waving the white flag" in the Premier League title race if they fail to sign a replacement for Gabriel Jesus in the January transfer window, but they have already missed out on one "perfect" option, Charles Watts has told Sports Mole.
The former Manchester City man had resurrected his Gunners career with six goals in four games over the winter period before suffering a cruel ACL injury in the weekend's FA Cup third-round defeat to Manchester United.
Jesus is one of six Arsenal players currently in the medical room alongside Bukayo Saka, Riccardo Calafiori, Ethan Nwaneri, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, and a further eight players have also missed at least one game through injury for Arsenal this season.
"It's just a real, real shame for it to happen," Watts said. "But it kind of just sums up this season. I've never known a season like it for injuries. I think it really does hark back to too much football being played. And I'm not just talking about Arsenal here.
"You look across Europe, so many top players going down to injuries because of, in my view, the sheer amount of football that is being played. And I don't think that's a good thing for football. I don't think it's a good thing for the quality of the game. It's something that certainly has to be looked at.
"To the player, it's a massive blow. He's fought back from a couple of really bad knee injuries in the last couple of years and this certainly looks like being the worst of the lot. 27 years old, facing certainly nine months but maybe a year on the sidelines. Just got himself back into the team and started scoring goals as well. It's a huge blow to him, but it's a huge blow to the club as well.
"His long-term future might not have been Arsenal. There was probably a decision to be made in the summer when it came to him, but he was going to have to play a really important part between now and the end of the season. So to lose him on the back of losing Bukayo Saka, it's just another experienced senior player who's fallen by the wayside."
Watts: 'Arsenal waving white flag with no new signing'
With Jesus out of contention, Kai Havertz and Under-21s striker Nathan Butler-Oyedeji are Mikel Arteta's only two attacking options, but the former is suffering from a crisis of confidence in front of goal at present.
Havertz missed several gilt-edged chances over the course of two games against Newcastle United (EFL Cup) and Man United (FA Cup) before also failing to fire in Wednesday's Premier League North London derby.
The German's profligacy mattered not as Arsenal won 2-1, but Arteta's men did not make the most of several promising attacking sequences, an all-too familiar theme for the Gunners in 2024-25 after they held off on signing a new striker in the summer.
However, Arteta has now confirmed that the search is underway for a January reinforcement, which Watts believes is necessary if Arsenal are to maintain their faint hopes of winning the Premier League title, but he has poured cold water over hopes of a permanent arrival.
"It would be madness for them not to do it. Absolute madness," he added. "It'd basically be waving the white flag and surrendering the season if they didn't go out and act now. They had to do it before the Jesus injury, on the back of Saka's injury, they needed to do it. But they certainly now have to.
"They're not stupid. People like to say Arteta's stubborn and he didn't do what he needed to do in the summer, which I agree with, by the way, he didn't and the club didn't. They should have acted in the summer, but they absolutely have to act now.
"He basically said it himself. He knew that the options he has available to him for the second half of the season is not enough. If they want to win the Premier League, if they want to go deep into the Champions League, which they've got a really good opportunity of doing now, then they have to give him more options to be able to rotate.
"I don't necessarily think they're going to go out and sign the player this month. It might have to be a loan. And then you go again in the summer and look what you can do there in a long-term aspect. But I think a loan is probably the most likely option for now."
Watts reveals Vlahovic transfer truth after 2022 pursuit
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Arsenal's prime attacking targets - Newcastle's Alexander Isak, Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres and Napoli's Victor Osimhen - are all expected to be unattainable in January, but they are believed to be exploring the possibility of doing a deal for Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic.
The Serbian was on Arsenal's radar in January 2022 following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's bitter departure, and even though he snubbed the North London giants for Juventus, the Gunners' interest does not appear to have waned.
Juve have allegedly rejected one loan offer from Arteta's side, but they are on the verge of signing Paris Saint-Germain's Randal Kolo Muani on a temporary deal for the rest of the season, potentially opening the door to a temporary Vlahovic exit.
However, Watts is yet to be convinced by the Fiorentina man and revealed that his agents 'used' Arsenal to their advantage in 2022, saying: "It's tough looking around. But it's not for me to say that.
"It's more for the Arsenal recruitment team to go out there and find someone who they believe the data suggests fits this team, can come in and make a difference. There must be players out there. That's what they're paid big, big money to do.
"Vlahovic is an interesting one just because he's always seemingly linked with Arsenal. I'm always a bit suspect to it because at the time when he was really heavily linked, I was being told that Fiorentina and his agents were using Arsenal's name to drum up Juventus' interest and try and get the best possible deal for Fiorentina, which ultimately they did.
"I'm not saying he is the guy, I'm yet to be convinced by him, but, that could be an option potentially. And there must be others out there that the club have identified and are looking to do."
Arsenal miss out on "perfect" Kvaratskhelia signing
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As Kolo Muani leaves PSG for Serie A, Napoli wing wizard Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is said to be heading in the opposite direction, as the Georgia international is reportedly close to joining the French champions after Antonio Conte confirmed his desire to leave the 2022-23 Scudetto winners.
Arsenal's name has been previously mentioned in Kvaratskhelia conversations, but they have never been seriously linked with the 23-year-old, whose main Premier League suitors are said to have been Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle United.
However, Watts believes that Kvaratskhelia would have been "perfect" for Arsenal, who should have no qualms about paying £10m or £15m more for a target that they had earmarked for the summer in order to do a deal as quickly as possible.
"The excuse that there's no one out there just doesn't stack up to me, because there are plenty of players out there who could improve this Arsenal team," Watts added. "And we're seeing players on the move this window, Kvaratskhelia from Napoli to PSG, who I think would have been perfect for Arsenal.
"There are players moving this window that are clearly available who I think can improve Arsenal. The club just have to go out there and find someone and do it very, very quickly.
"If you can somehow fast track something that you had identified for the summer, even if it means overpaying maybe £10m too much now, it could be worth doing. You get that player for an extra six months, it could benefit you next season because he's already acclimatised to be ready to hit the ground running next season."
As well as Vlahovic, Isak, Gyokeres and Osimhen, Arsenal were pursuing a deal for RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko in the summer before the Slovenian signed a new contract, which also removed his previous £55m release clause.
For the time being, Havertz will continue to act as Arsenal's chief attacking threat, as the Gunners prepare to welcome Aston Villa to the Emirates for Saturday's Premier League showdown.
Ben Knapton
