Arsenal criticised for overlooking Liverpool stars Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike | OneFootball

Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta has been criticised for overlooking two Liverpool forwards during last summer’s search for a new striker.

The Gunners ultimately invested £64million in Viktor Gyokeres after a lengthy pursuit of attacking reinforcements, but former Arsenal academy striker Jay Bothroyd believes the club could have chosen differently.

Bothroyd has pointed towards Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike as two players Arsenal should have pushed harder to sign, with both eventually ending up at Liverpool during the 2025 summer window.

Arsenal’s missed opportunities in attack

The north London side were searching for a forward capable of adding greater threat to Mikel Arteta’s attack, and Gyokeres arrived at the Emirates after producing extraordinary numbers with Sporting.

The Sweden international had scored 97 goals in 102 appearances for the Portuguese club, making him one of the most prolific strikers in European football at the time.

However, his transition to the Premier League has been more complicated than expected. Although he scored 21 goals last season and helped Arsenal secure the league title, he has started the current campaign on the bench, with Kai Havertz being used in a more central attacking role.

Bothroyd believes Arsenal could have solved that problem by signing Isak or Ekitike instead.

Bothroyd explains Arsenal’s transfer blunder

Liverpool initially signed Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt for around £69m before completing their spectacular £125m deal for Isak later in the window.

Bothroyd believes either forward would have represented a major addition for Arteta, while he also highlighted Julian Alvarez as the profile of striker Arsenal should have been targeting.

Alvarez remains an option in the wider picture, but Arsenal now face the difficult reality of trying to land a player they failed to secure during the original recruitment process.