Ian Wright 'Gutted' as Arsenal Loses Morgan Rogers to Chelsea

Ian Wright has laid bare his frustration at Arsenal’s summer business, admitting he was “gutted” to see Morgan Rogers choose Chelsea after the Gunners had led the chase for weeks.

Arsenal went into the window hunting for another attacking spark, even after wrapping up an early deal for Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge. The plan was clear: add a difference-maker in the final third, particularly from the left, to push Mikel Arteta’s side one step closer to the title.

Names flashed by. Morgan Rogers. Vinicius Junior. Julian Alvarez. All high on Arsenal’s list. None of them walked through the doors at London Colney.

Arteta’s squad did not stand still. Bruno Guimaraes arrived. Ezri Konsa came in to strengthen the back line. The squad looks deeper, more rounded. Yet for Wright, the one glaring hole remains the forward Arteta has been craving.

Speaking on The Overlap, the former Arsenal striker did not hide his disappointment.

“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,” Wright said.

“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.”

The pressure finally told in West London’s favour. Chelsea stepped in and paid the money. Rogers moved to Stamford Bridge in a deal worth £117m, a fee Arsenal were not prepared to match, despite appearing to lead the race for much of the summer.

For Wright, that decision could carry a cost in the title fight.

Arsenal are gearing up for another tilt at the Premier League, but the club legend fears the absence of a top-level left-sided attacker might come back to bite them.

“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 added.

“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.”

Wright also questioned the optics of Arsenal’s pursuit strategy, suggesting their all-out chase for Vinicius Junior may have complicated their standing with other targets.

“There’s something that’s happened with Arsenal with the way they were going for Vini,” he said. “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.”

The narrative now turns quickly. Arsenal’s next Premier League assignment is a trip to face Chelsea at the weekend, with the Rogers storyline adding extra spice to an already heavyweight clash.

Peter Crouch expects the blue corner to land the punch.

“Great game! Two teams looking good as well. 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,” Crouch said.

Arsenal, still without the forward their manager wanted most, must now prove they can keep pace with a Chelsea side willing to pay whatever it takes.