Final week I wrote about Arsenal’s assault and my perception, which I consider to be extensively shared, that the crew wants one other dependable recreation breaker aside from Bukayo Saka and Nicolas Jover. I may even preface this piece by saying I don’t consider Arteta’s teaching or system is any form of obstacle to Arsenal’s attacking recreation.
The crew scored 91 Premier League objectives final season, Bukayo Saka has not been stifled from turning into one of many recreation’s nice attacking gamers and Arsenal dominate each opponent they play, roughly. Once they rating one objective, they don’t sit again and defend, typically talking. They’ve scored 5 away at Sporting and West Ham contained in the final month.
I believe they’ve a personnel subject in assault. Martinelli isn’t fairly doing it. Trossard isn’t fairly doing it. Havertz isn’t fairly doing it in entrance of objective. Sterling isn’t doing something helpful and Jesus blows cold and hot to say the least. I believe it is rather a lot a problem of recruitment and never teaching. So the query comes, ought to Arsenal have performed extra to handle this through the summer time?
If I used to be to behave because the defence counsel for Arsenal, I’d state the next. They tried to signal Benjamin Sesko from Leipzig, who may be very a lot an unpolished gem. That try didn’t come off. They recognised the necessity for an additional attacker to the purpose that they bashed the Sterling button on deadline day and didn’t log out on the discharge of Reiss Nelson on mortgage till that deal was full.
It won’t be some extent that individuals like, it could be inconvenient, however the market was fairly naked. Liverpool signed Chiesa on a discount deal as a result of he’s so harm susceptible that Arsenal may as properly have signed him as a left-back. Metropolis didn’t substitute Julian Alvarez. Even essentially the most reckless spending membership on this planet, Chelsea, signed Neto and Sancho, who’ve contributed little this season. (Frustratingly, Neto’s solely worthwhile contribution got here towards Arsenal!)
I believe among the arguments about Arteta not prioritising attackers are fairly fatuous when context is utilized. Saka and Martinelli began the final Premier League recreation and each had been on the membership when Arteta arrived. Arteta additionally arrived right into a state of affairs the place Arsenal had spent about £162m on a entrance three that had completely flopped in Lacazette, Aubameyang and Pepe (solely a kind of attackers supplied near their switch worth).
Granted, Arteta and Arsenal very a lot received a bye when Willian was keen to go away some cash on the desk to go away after his disastrous 12 months on the membership. However that additionally serves as a warning about what can occur once you get it fallacious. In the event you spend £100m or so on an attacker and get it fallacious, you most likely can’t purchase one other one for some time.
Whereas I’d argue that Arsenal most likely are in ‘now we have to hit the button on one thing now and hope it really works’ territory, I believe it’s disingenuous to fake that is a simple alternative or one which isn’t inherent with nice danger. The counter to that’s that Arteta has been keen to gamble on extra defensive gamers.
Partey’s minutes had been managed very rigorously at Atleti. Calafiori has an extremely critical knee harm in his previous and Arsenal determined to roll with it. I suppose the distinction is that these gamers value £50m whereas playing on an attacker will doubtless set you again double that.
I don’t assume Arsenal needs to be introduced any form of ‘no less than you tried’ cake, however huge cash bids for Vlahovic and particularly Mudryk counsel there may be an urge for food for danger in assault. It doesn’t get riskier than being keen to blow the funds on Mudryk. It’s a aggressive marketplace for attackers. You will get a defender comparatively uncontested, once you go for an attacker on this market, you might be doubtless in a bidding struggle.
Nonetheless, I’m extra receptive to the concept Arsenal don’t really want the Goldilocks attacker if one just isn’t obtainable. I believe upgrading on Havertz and Martinelli most likely is tough (if not completely unattainable) within the present market. I believe there’s a pertinent query as as to if Arsenal have upgraded on Nketiah and Nelson.
Presently, Jesus and Sterling’s output just isn’t precisely placing Nketiah and Nelson within the shade. Hopefully, Jesus’ hat-trick final night time acts as a set of leap cables for this season however, we must also do not forget that Eddie Nketiah scored a hat-trick final season too. Repeatability is what we want from the Brazilian.
Whereas I consider that Arsenal most likely do want one other ‘recreation breaker’, a greater answer from the bench than Raheem Sterling modelling the newest Arsenal tracksuit would nonetheless signify an enchancment. Leo Trossard improved Arsenal’s attacking output and he was removed from the proper signing.
The curiosity in Sesko means that Arsenal are usually not ready for Goldilocks in an attacking sense, Sesko would have been a ‘undertaking signing’ which illustrates the place the market is. I believe it was additionally attention-grabbing to listen to Arteta say that he sees Ethan Nwaneri as a quantity 9 sooner or later.
I believe growing him there can be a extremely sensible factor to do. If the marketplace for strikers goes to proceed to be impoverished and, due to this fact, economically prohibitive, selecting to develop essentially the most proficient academy participant you might have into essentially the most tough place to fill in your squad makes lots of sense. Particularly as the opposite two positions he appears to be like most suited to are stuffed by Odegaard and Saka.
My Arsenal Imaginative and prescient colleague Elliot posed the next thought experiment- in case you may journey again in time and affect occasions, would you quite Arsenal signed an attacker in the summertime? Or to remove the three pink playing cards from earlier within the marketing campaign and persist with what now we have? I believe that’s a extremely attention-grabbing query that most likely tells you the place you might be on the query of whether or not Arsenal ought to have taken an even bigger danger in assault through the summer time.
