Ian Wright Frustrated as Arsenal Miss Out on Morgan Rogers to Chelsea

Ian Wright has laid bare his frustration at Arsenal’s summer business, admitting he was “gutted” to see Morgan Rogers slip from their grasp and land at Chelsea.

Arsenal went into the window hunting for another attacking spark, even after wrapping up an early deal for Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge. The brief was clear: find a forward who could tilt the biggest games, especially from that left side.

Names flew around the Emirates boardroom. Morgan Rogers. Vinicius Junior. Julian Alvarez. All high on the list. All ultimately out of reach.

Mikel Arteta’s squad still received heavyweight reinforcements. Bruno Guimaraes arrived to add steel and craft in midfield, Ezri Konsa to tighten things up at the back. On paper, the squad looks stronger. Wright, though, can’t get past the one that got away.

“It’s not a disastrous window but if I’m Mikel, I wouldn’t be happy with how this window has gone simply because we’ve gone another window where we have not got that forward.

“Mikel has talked about getting players to take us to that level, he did it again after Paris, where we didn’t have that player to break them. That is the player Mikel wanted. They chased Vini until the end of the earth and left Morgan Rogers dangling.”

For weeks, Arsenal looked to be leading the race for Rogers. Then Chelsea stepped in, paid the £117m, and closed the deal. No drama, just a decisive move from a direct rival.

Wright fears that hesitation could cost Arsenal in the title fight.

Arsenal are gearing up for another tilt at the Premier League, and the former striker believes failing to land a top-level left-sided attacker may prove a glaring omission.

“You say we have got those types of players but that is what Mikel wanted. It is a position where we need that player,” Wright continued. “Of course Saka is back, Odegaard is back, Havertz is back and playing together, but he wanted that difference-maker.

“He [Rogers] is the one we were linked with ages ago and he would have loved to have come, I can feel it.”

For Wright, the way Arsenal pursued Vinicius Junior has left a mark. He suggested that such a very public chase can send the wrong message to alternative targets.

“There’s something that’s happened with Arsenal with the way they were going for Vini. If you’re a player and you see a team going for him, you think, ‘I thought they were interested in me?’ It is the player the manager wanted. Chelsea thought, well if you’re not going to pay it, we’ll pay it. I’m gutted, I would have loved him to come.”

Now the narrative turns quickly. Arsenal head to Chelsea next in the Premier League, with Rogers set to line up in blue rather than red, and the spotlight burning a little hotter on Arteta’s attack.

Peter Crouch expects that Chelsea, under Xabi Alonso, will underline their own title credentials in that showdown.

“Great game! Two teams looking good as well,” Crouch said. “I’m going to put the cat amongst the pigeons and I’m going to go for a 3-2 Chelsea win. I think they’ve announced themselves as title contenders.”

If Crouch is right and Chelsea edge a thriller, Arsenal will be left staring at the very player Wright believes should have been theirs, wondering how different this title race might have looked.