Ian Wright 'Gutted' Over Arsenal Losing Morgan Rogers to Chelsea

Ian Wright has laid bare his frustration at Arsenal’s failure to land Morgan Rogers, admitting he was “gutted” to see the forward join Chelsea after weeks of believing the Gunners were in control of the race.

Arsenal went into the summer determined to add another attacker after striking an early agreement for Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge. The plan was clear: one more major forward signing to elevate Mikel Arteta’s frontline.

They aimed high. Morgan Rogers, Vinicius Junior and Julian Alvarez all sat near the top of Arsenal’s wishlist. For a long spell, Rogers looked the most realistic. Arsenal appeared to be leading the chase.

Then Chelsea pounced.

The Blues stepped in and closed a £117m deal for Rogers, leaving Arsenal empty-handed in that area of the pitch despite strengthening elsewhere with headline arrivals like Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa.

On The Overlap, Wright did not hide his disappointment with how the window played out from an attacking perspective.

“It’s not a disastrous window,” he said. “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.”

Arsenal, once again eyeing a title push, now head into the season without the left-sided difference-maker Wright believes could prove decisive in the tightest games.

“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, Arsenal’s pursuit of Vinicius Junior didn’t just cost them time. It may have sent the wrong message to Rogers.

“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 debate around Arsenal’s attacking depth will only intensify this weekend when they meet Chelsea in the Premier League, with Rogers now wearing blue rather than red.

Peter Crouch expects that to matter. He’s backing Chelsea – and backing them loudly.

“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 Rogers plays a part in that kind of statement victory, the regret Wright feels now might just spread across the Arsenal fanbase.