Ian Wright ‘Gutted’ Over Arsenal Losing Morgan Rogers to Chelsea

Arsenal great Ian Wright has admitted he was “gutted” that the club lost out on Morgan Rogers to Chelsea in the summer, despite tracking the forward for weeks.

Arsenal went into the window hunting for another attacking spark after wrapping up an early move for Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge. The plan was clear: add a difference-maker in the final third to push a title challenge over the line.

Names flashed on and off the radar. Morgan Rogers. Vinicius Junior. Julian Alvarez. All sat high on Arsenal’s list. None walked through the doors at London Colney.

Mikel Arteta still got major reinforcements. Bruno Guimaraes arrived to bolster midfield, Ezri Konsa to strengthen the back line. The squad looks deeper, more rounded. But for Wright, the one glaring hole remains.

Wright's Frustration

On The Overlap, he didn’t hide his frustration.

“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 instead. Chelsea, watching the situation develop, stepped in and paid the £117m to land Rogers, sealing a deal that Arsenal had long seemed favourites to complete.

For Wright, that decision cuts deep, not just for this window, but for what it might mean across the season.

“You say we have got those types of players but that is what Mikel wanted. It is a position where we need that player,” he 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.”

Wright also questioned the optics of Arsenal’s pursuit, convinced that the heavy focus on Vinicius Junior may have sent mixed messages to other 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.”

Arsenal are again gearing up for a title push, but Wright fears the lack of a top-level option on the left could return to haunt them when margins tighten in the spring.

The first test of that theory comes immediately. Arsenal head to Stamford Bridge this weekend to face Chelsea and their new £117m forward.

Crouch's Prediction

Peter Crouch expects a statement from the home side.

“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.

If Rogers plays a decisive role in that kind of scoreline, Arsenal’s regret – and Wright’s – will only grow louder.