In recent weeks, Arsenal have won 5-1 away at Sporting, 5-2 away at West Ham and on Wednesday they beat Monaco 3-0, recording an XG of 2.2 (the third goal does not count towards the XG total). own goal). So it feels strange to write about concerns about Arsenal’s attack. But the concerns are entirely justified.
Because what we’re seeing so far this season is very similar to what we saw last season. When Arsenal score first or really make progress, they can score big against poor teams (cough, West Ham, cough) or when there is early pressure. Arteta’s side usually start games well, but they really rely on their early pressing calculations.
The 91 goals scored in the Premier League last season do not seem to indicate that the team was missing anything in attack. But there are two facts I’ve repeated ad nauseam in this column and in podcast ads since June. Arsenal failed to score in five Premier League games last season. They have also failed to score in four consecutive Champions League away games.
Failing to score in four Champions League away games before breaking the dam with a five-goal salvo in Lisbon is actually quite exemplary. This means they have averaged a goal per home away game in the 2024 competition, but obviously that statistic masks some wrinkles, as did their 91 league goals last season.
Essentially what we can all see is that Arsenal are lacking another game breaker. There is one in Bukayo Saka. Nicolas Jover has another one. Arteta knows this. I’ll just wait until the second most repeated fact off my mouth/keyboard this season and learn that the first thing they tried in the summer was signing Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.
The team has two slightly imperfect options at centre-forward, but they currently live on slightly different ends of the ‘imperfect’ spectrum. Kai Havertz is an elite player and plays a very important role in the way Arsenal play. However, he is not an elite goalscorer, nor is he an individual who can win games with one shining moment.
Then there is Gabriel Jesus. It’s fair to say the team has moved away from him, and Jesus has always been a character who lived too much in his own head to be a killer in the penalty area. There’s a meme in Brazil where they always look like they’re on the verge of tears and sometimes they play like that.
However, he recently started against Southampton and Monaco and performed relatively well. He was fine / against Southampton on June 10th. Against Monaco we saw something more like the Gabriel Jesus of old. He was busy and passionate, winning balls high up the pitch, missing good chances and making good assists. It was a Gabi Jesus set menu.
The problem arose when Monaco launched a counterattack in the second half, and when that happened Arsenal needed Havertz to relieve the pressure. When Arsenal are on top you probably want the best Jesus up front (although we’ve hardly seen the best Jesus in the last two years) and when the game is more delicately balanced you probably want Havertz. You will want it.
I think this explains the interest in Sesco, which combines Havertz’s physicality with the unpredictability and chaos that Jesus presents when he is looking at his shoes without wearing black eye shadow. I think Arsenal have a similar problem on the left wing where Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard operate a sort of job sharing.
They are very different players and their qualities tend to apply to different game states. The problem is that these game states can be difficult to predict and, as we saw against Monaco, things can change within the game. I think this goes some way to explaining why Martinelli and Trossard go from hot to cold in a short period of time.
Again, Arsenal know this. They tried to sign Mykhailo Mudric in January 2023, but turned to Leo Trosar instead. In retrospect, you might think the bullet missed, but it shows that Arteta believed the left wing was a position he could upgrade. They pivoted to Trossard in that scenario, but considering he was 28 at the time of signing and the purchase was pretty opportunistic, you can tell that wasn’t the long-term plan for the position.
Likewise, Raheem Sterling’s reluctant contract deadline. Its delay suggests Arsenal are harboring doubts, but given the player’s obvious talent and the generous terms of the deal, Arteta felt the attack needed reinforcements enough for him to hit the gamble button.
Unfortunately, to date, Sterling has shown no signs of regaining his former standing and has proven to be a replacement for Reiss Nelson in the most literal sense, without providing any real upgrade for the scant and often insignificant time allotted to Nelson at nearly the same level. It is done. of output. Trossard/Martinelli and Jesus are both preferred bench options and Saka isn’t going away unless the game is done or dusted or he has a set of studs in the back of his Achilles.
Simply put, Havertz was not destined to be a full-time striker, Trossard was a mid-term striker, Sterling was a short-term striker with little to no stick, and Martinelli did not develop as well as we had hoped. The market is dry for attackers. Manchester City did not replace Julian Alvarez this summer. Liverpool’s attacking signing was a cut-throat deal for the injured Federico Chiesa, who has played 19 minutes in the Premier League since signing.
Looking further back, Liverpool’s attempts to replace Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have had mixed results. There are plenty of hit and miss options with Diaz, Nunez and Gakpo, with only Diogo Jota offering undeniable value. Their offense is still hoisted by Mo Salah’s important flagpole.
It’s true that Arsenal’s team on the right is much more threatening than the team on the left, but I think the same is true for Liverpool (Trent and Salah) and Manchester City, who will be best-suited to rope in Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and De Bruyne. Right pod. However, even having a Martinelli/Trossard hybrid on the left and a Havertz/Jesus hybrid up front would greatly improve this team and the level of threat it can generate.
It is true that the margin has been reduced against Arsenal this season, but it is also true that Arsenal need at least one other striker who can push the margin in their favor. Arsenal consistently play strong, dominant football and push their opponents away. Even against Monaco, a top eight side in the Champions League, Arsenal, with an 18-year-old left-back, a midfielder at right-back and a broken striker, wiped the floor with Monaco. But they were not clinical enough.
The market is dry but Arsenal, who have decided on a few short-term options, will need to find an oasis in the desert somewhere. On days when the opposition’s first shot is scored, or the referee calls an outrageous red card, Arsenal need another solution, another non-Saka game-breaker, another set-piece to win.
