Last week I wrote about Arsenal’s attack and my perception, which I imagine to be extensively shared, that the crew wants one other dependable sport breaker aside from Bukayo Saka and Nicolas Jover. I may also preface this piece by saying I don’t imagine Arteta’s teaching or system is any sort of obstacle to Arsenal’s attacking sport.
The crew scored 91 Premier League objectives final season, Bukayo Saka has not been stifled from turning into one of many sport’s nice attacking gamers and Arsenal dominate each opponent they play, kind of. Once they rating one aim, they don’t sit again and defend, usually 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 warm 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 performed extra to handle this throughout 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 off on the discharge of Reiss Nelson on mortgage till that deal was full.
It won’t be a degree that individuals like, it may be 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 substitute Julian Alvarez. Even probably the most reckless spending membership on the earth, Chelsea, signed Neto and Sancho, who’ve contributed little this season. (Frustratingly, Neto’s solely worthwhile contribution got here towards Arsenal!)
I feel a number of the arguments about Arteta not prioritising attackers are fairly fatuous when context is utilized. Saka and Martinelli began the final Premier League sport and each had been on the membership when Arteta arrived. Arteta additionally arrived right into a scenario 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 offered near their switch worth).
Granted, Arteta and Arsenal very a lot received a bye when Willian was prepared to depart some cash on the desk to go away after his disastrous yr on the membership. However that additionally serves as a warning about what can occur while you get it fallacious. In the event you spend £100m or so on an attacker and get it fallacious, you in all probability can’t purchase one other one for some time.
Whereas I’d argue that Arsenal in all probability are in ‘we’ve to hit the button on one thing now and hope it really works’ territory, I feel it’s disingenuous to fake that is a straightforward selection 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 had been managed very fastidiously at Atleti. Calafiori has an extremely critical knee harm in his previous and Arsenal determined to roll with it. I assume the distinction is that these gamers price £50m whereas playing on an attacker will probably set you again double that.
I don’t assume Arsenal needs to be offered any form of ‘at the least you tried’ cake, however massive cash bids for Vlahovic and particularly Mudryk recommend there may be an urge for food for danger in assault. It doesn’t get riskier than being prepared to blow the funds on Mudryk. It’s a aggressive marketplace for attackers. You will get a defender comparatively uncontested, while you go for an attacker on this market, you might be probably in a bidding warfare.
Nevertheless, I’m extra receptive to the concept Arsenal don’t actually need the Goldilocks attacker if one will not be accessible. I feel upgrading on Havertz and Martinelli in all probability is tough (if not completely unattainable) within the present market. I feel there’s a pertinent query as as to if 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 imagine that Arsenal in all probability do want one other ‘sport 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 aren’t 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 fascinating to listen to Arteta say that he sees Ethan Nwaneri as a quantity 9 sooner or later.
I feel growing him there could be a extremely 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 probably the most gifted academy participant you’ve gotten into probably the most tough place to fill in your squad makes numerous sense. Particularly as the opposite two positions he appears most suited to are stuffed by Odegaard and Saka.
My Arsenal Imaginative and prescient colleague Elliot posed the next thought experiment- when you might journey again in time and affect occasions, would you relatively Arsenal signed an attacker in the summertime? Or to remove the three pink playing cards from earlier within the marketing campaign and stick to what we’ve? I feel that’s a extremely fascinating query that in all probability 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 throughout the summer time.
