Final week I wrote about Arsenal’s assault and my perception, which I imagine to be extensively shared, that the crew wants one other dependable recreation breaker aside from Bukayo Saka and Nicolas Jover. I can even preface this piece by saying I don’t imagine 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, kind of. 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 concern 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 warm to say the least. I believe it is vitally a lot a problem of recruitment and never teaching. So the query comes, ought to Arsenal have completed extra to handle this in the course of the summer time?
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 some extent that individuals like, it may be inconvenient, however the market was fairly naked. Liverpool signed Chiesa on a bargain deal as a result of he’s so damage susceptible that Arsenal may as nicely have signed him as a left-back. Metropolis didn’t change Julian Alvarez. Even essentially 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 in opposition to Arsenal!)
I believe 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 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 supplied near their switch worth).
Granted, Arteta and Arsenal very a lot acquired a bye when Willian was prepared to depart 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. In the event you spend £100m or so on an attacker and get it incorrect, you in all probability can’t purchase one other one for some time.
Whereas I might argue that Arsenal in all probability 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 straightforward 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 had been managed very fastidiously at Atleti. Calafiori has an extremely severe knee damage 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 doubtless set you again double that.
I don’t assume Arsenal ought to be offered any form of ‘at the least you tried’ cake, however huge 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 finances 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 that Arsenal don’t actually need the Goldilocks attacker if one is just not obtainable. I believe upgrading on Havertz and Martinelli in all probability is troublesome (if not completely inconceivable) within the present market. I believe there’s a pertinent query as as to if Arsenal have upgraded on Nketiah and Nelson.
At present, Jesus and Sterling’s output is just not precisely placing Nketiah and Nelson within the shade. Hopefully, Jesus’ hat-trick final evening acts as a set of soar 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 ‘recreation breaker’, a greater resolution 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 aren’t ready for Goldilocks in an attacking sense, Sesko would have been a ‘venture signing’ which illustrates the place the market is. I believe it was additionally fascinating to listen to Arteta say that he sees Ethan Nwaneri as a quantity 9 sooner or later.
I believe creating him there can be a very 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 troublesome place to fill in your squad makes numerous sense. Particularly as the opposite two positions he seems most suited to are crammed 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 somewhat 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 now we have? I believe that’s a very 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 in the course of the summer time.