Final week I wrote about Arsenal’s assault and my perception, which I consider to be extensively shared, that the group wants one other dependable recreation breaker aside from Bukayo Saka and Nicolas Jover. I may also 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 group scored 91 Premier League targets final season, Bukayo Saka has not been stifled from changing into one of many recreation’s nice attacking gamers and Arsenal dominate each opponent they play, roughly. After they rating one aim, 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 feel they’ve a personnel situation in assault. Martinelli isn’t fairly doing it. Trossard isn’t fairly doing it. Havertz isn’t fairly doing it in entrance of aim. Sterling isn’t doing something helpful and Jesus blows cold and hot to say the least. I feel it is extremely a lot a difficulty of recruitment and never teaching. So the query comes, ought to Arsenal have completed extra to handle this in the course of the summer season?
If I used to be to behave because the defence counsel for Arsenal, I might state the next. They tried to signal Benjamin Sesko from Leipzig, who could 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 off on the discharge of Reiss Nelson on mortgage till that deal was full.
It may not be a degree that folks like, it is perhaps inconvenient, however the market was fairly naked. Liverpool signed Chiesa on a discount deal as a result of he’s so harm inclined that Arsenal would possibly as nicely have signed him as a left-back. Metropolis didn’t exchange Julian Alvarez. Even essentially the most reckless spending membership on the planet, Chelsea, signed Neto and Sancho, who’ve contributed little this season. (Frustratingly, Neto’s solely worthwhile contribution got here towards Arsenal!)
I feel a few of 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 have 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 type of attackers supplied near their switch worth).
Granted, Arteta and Arsenal very a lot received a bye when Willian was prepared 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 incorrect. If you happen to spend £100m or so on an attacker and get it incorrect, you most likely can’t purchase one other one for some time.
Whereas I might 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 feel 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 prepared to gamble on extra defensive gamers.
Partey’s minutes have 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 price £50m whereas playing on an attacker will possible set you again double that.
I don’t suppose Arsenal needs to be introduced any kind of ‘at the very least you tried’ cake, however large cash bids for Vlahovic and particularly Mudryk counsel there’s an urge for food for danger in assault. It doesn’t get riskier than being prepared to blow the finances on Mudryk. It’s a aggressive marketplace for attackers. You may get a defender comparatively uncontested, once you go for an attacker on this market, you’re possible in a bidding warfare.
Nonetheless, I’m extra receptive to the concept that Arsenal don’t really want the Goldilocks attacker if one will not be accessible. I feel upgrading on Havertz and Martinelli most likely is tough (if not completely not possible) within the present market. I feel there’s a pertinent query as as to whether Arsenal have upgraded on Nketiah and Nelson.
Presently, Jesus and Sterling’s output will not be precisely placing Nketiah and Nelson within the shade. Hopefully, Jesus’ hat-trick final night time acts as a set of bounce cables for this season however, we also needs to keep in mind that Eddie Nketiah scored a hat-trick final season too. Repeatability is what we’d like 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 most recent Arsenal tracksuit would nonetheless characterize an enchancment. Leo Trossard improved Arsenal’s attacking output and he was removed from the right signing.
The curiosity in Sesko means that Arsenal should not ready for Goldilocks in an attacking sense, Sesko would have been a ‘challenge signing’ which illustrates the place the market is. I feel it was additionally attention-grabbing to listen to Arteta say that he sees Ethan Nwaneri as a quantity 9 sooner or later.
I feel growing him there can be a very good 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 gifted academy participant you have got into essentially the most tough place to fill in your squad makes quite a lot of sense. Particularly as the opposite two positions he seems most suited to are stuffed by Odegaard and Saka.
My Arsenal Imaginative and prescient colleague Elliot posed the next thought experiment- when you may journey again in time and affect occasions, would you reasonably Arsenal signed an attacker in the summertime? Or to remove the three purple playing cards from earlier within the marketing campaign and keep on with what now we have? I feel that’s a very attention-grabbing query that most likely tells you the place you’re on the query of whether or not Arsenal ought to have taken an even bigger danger in assault in the course of the summer season.
