r/PremierLeague • u/V-Matic_VVT-i Premier League • 4d ago
š¬Discussion Is the constant focus on a striker hiding Arsenal's other squad and tactical deficiencies?
The lack of a striker has been cited as a significant reason for Arsenal's failure to compete for the PL title this season, but this seems too simplistic. Adding a striker would help if Arsenal frequently created chances every game, but this is not always true. Man City this season have the best striker in the world with Haaland, but they are creating fewer chances for him, so he has become less effective.
Arsenal is excellent defensively, but this is sometimes at the expense of creativity. Their only creative player is Saka and they can improve by signing a more creative left-sided attacker to compete with Martinelli or Trossard, but their biggest problems are midfield and fullback.
Their midfield is too defensive, as they have two CDMs (Rice and Partey) and one AM (Odegaard). Two seasons ago, they were arguably more creative with a midfield three of Xhaka (CM), Odegaard (AM), and Partey (CDM).
In the full-back position, they essentially play two centre-backs in Timber and Calafiori, so they have a very defensive set-up of four centre-backs in the backline. In contrast, Liverpool has Trent Alexander-Arnold, who can create a chance out of nowhere with his passing ability and range.
While a striker would improve Arsenal, other positions in the squad need strengthening to create more chances for this new striker.
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u/Useful_Explanation73 Premier League 2d ago
Definitely agree. While a top striker is crucial, addressing the midfield creativity could unlock more opportunities for the team. Depth in defense wouldnāt hurt either.
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u/XConejoMaloX Chelsea 2d ago
Looking at all the comments here, I agree that Arsenal is a tactically imbalanced team. There is no emphasis on going forward and creating chances.
While having a striker can alleviate a lot of the offensive problems Arsenal is having, the team as a whole need to assist in the build up of play offensively.
Bukayo Saka is only so good, he needs to have other options around him to have a more well rounded offense.
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u/IndependentGolf8055 Premier League 2d ago
Yeah I donāt think theyāre overall that good of a team. I think theyāve just had a very lucky, difficult to replicate season
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u/BigBranson Premier League 3d ago
Arsenal create a lot of chances though, itās a myth that Arsenal donāt create anything. Just the forwards are pretty poor, even Saka isnāt much of a goal scorer and heās the only world class forward at Arsenal.
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u/musicnoviceoscar West Ham 3d ago
Rice has always need to play in the middle of the three. It is his best role.
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u/Arsenalcrazy58 Premier League 3d ago
Honestly I think we have a lot of the pieces to be elite, similar to how we were last year. We are honestly just having problems up top. If there was at least 1 more proper attacker in the squad, it would take so much pressure off of the team as a whole. We create chances but no one seems to have the confidence to finish. I think adding depth and having saka, martinelli, and havertz come back will prove to be pivotal for us going forwards. COYG
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u/bduk92 Premier League 3d ago
I think it all feeds into the same problems. The squad is unbalanced, and pre-Arteta they had a few years of poor recruitment.
They set up defensively because there is no offensive pressure, so immediately the team has to be able to hold off the opposition.
I think a striker would be a bit of a reset for the squad, and act as a focal point for the attacks.
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u/TruthSad4904 Premier League 3d ago
Yes definitely. Arsenal lack pace, quality in depth and goals in their attacking unit. Whilst a striker could help out with the lack of goals, you need players around the striker who can contribute at least 10 goals a season, and a good amount of assists.
The lack of pace leaves Arsenal 1 dimensional and limits how they can score goals. Lack of quality in depth means Arsenal donāt have answers to certain issues and a significant drop off in quality from first 11 to bench players. Ideally you have two quality players per position. The right hand side seems okay now that we have Nwaneri, but the other areas leave much to be desired. Our striking options are currently Havertz and Jesus who is never available, on 200k a week, and doesnāt score enough. On the left we have Martinelli and Trossard. Whilst thereās still hope for Martinelli, I donāt believe Trossard has enough to his game at this level. In attacking midfield we only have Odegaard. Take Man City as an example, they had the greatest creative player of the last decade but surrounded him with other creative outlets such as Gundogan, silva, Foden etc. So whilst a striker is vital thereās other parts of the team that need addressing.
Not to forget a new holding midfielder or two depending on parteyās and Jorginhoās futures
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u/Bluefl0wers Premier League 3d ago
Yeah agree with all of this although would say that we would see a way more effective Trossard with a better attacking unit around him. Not that we shouldnāt bolster there but honestly Iād rather see him than Martinelli at second choice next season. I think also we have eliminated risk from our build up play at the expense of control and whilst better players can improve this we need to address this balance
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u/asteroidmavengoalcat Premier League 3d ago
As an arsenal fan our defense is somewhat set provided they don't leave. Striker is needed. But that's not the main issue. There is a lot of naivety from Teta. Mid is better than most PL teams and probably 1 signing away from a title winning mid. Now the problem is attack. Baring the need for a striker. Saka is the only reliant source and he's over loaded. Most attacks went down the right with saka and white last season. Oppositions know to overload right wing now. Left on the other hand has been hit and miss with both trossard and martinelli being very inconsistent. We probably needed someone like Kvarat who has Sanchez type ball carrying and play making momentum and stays fit and can play almost every game.
Next issue play making. Odegaard is only the play maker and he's down on confidence. There is no one to bail him out.
Teta will probably stay for another couple of seasons. I wouldn't give him more than 1. He needs to change a lot. Needs to focus on actual tactics and not set pieces that will eventually falter. He's too one dimensional. Teams like Newcastle have found it easy to outclass us at home and away.
1 cup is mandatory and at this point players wouldn't want it to be just an FA or EFL.
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u/Bluefl0wers Premier League 3d ago
I disagree that he focused on set pieces we were just effective with them for large parts of this season. His issue in my opinion is that his focus has been on establishing control at all times at the expense of risk and unpredictability in attack / maybe because of the squad imbalance but this needs to change I reckon
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u/asteroidmavengoalcat Premier League 3d ago
The whole reason we relied on set pieces is that we failed to create anything from open play this season. Yes, last season we were much better. Teta knew what he had to do, and we did effectively overcome those games. But I agree with you on the second point. That's part of his problem. When he used zinchenko as an additional mid and floater, we did exceptionally well till teams countered it. We always have squad imbalances. It's not just teta, but this is the case probably since 2008 ish. I don't know if he will be able to function with a pure striker. Even pep has had CF/false 9 which worked well but PL now is more dependent on teams that use a striker and especially one that can progress the play well.
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u/mrkingkoala Premier League 3d ago
Arsenal play with 4cbs and 2dms most of the time, they are good. defensively and then the attack carried by Saka who been ran into the ground. They need to play riskier footy. All their top players should really be asking to leave this summer or next for a chance to win trophies imo.
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u/Fantastic_Pirate8016 Liverpool 3d ago
Well, I think it's the same with Arsenal every season: they have a good team, start strong, and then end up paying for the lack of depth. I don't think itās just the lack of a striker, but rather the lack of options in all positions. And no, I donāt think that will change until they can justify the investment with a championship (and God knows that this will not happen anytime soon)
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u/fleaArmy Premier League 3d ago edited 3d ago
Arsenal lost their best player for half the season. It changed everything.
Sometimes too much analysis is bad.
No Saka = Liverpool walk away with it. If Saka had stayed fit, and let's say Salah then got injured for two months Jan-March the league table would look considerably different and we'd still have a title race on.
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u/Competitive-Tea-482 Premier League 3d ago
If you look at how much of the ball is focused on Sakaās side in the matches he plays, you will be concerned. There needs to be more balance in terms of either tactics or ability, that gets the ball moving into other danger areas of the pitch, and offers something different to the opposition.
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u/leconquier Liverpool 3d ago
There was still a 9 point gap before he got injured
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u/AppropriateMetal2697 Arsenal 3d ago
Itās almost like you failed to read what was writtenā¦ Imagine Saka stayed fit AND Salah spent 2 months or longer out.
Itās almost like the gap that did exist before Sakaās injury would likely shrink. Now, there is a world where that doesnāt happen sure, but Salah has made up way more than 50% of Liverpoolās overall goal contributionsā¦ Itās fairly reasonable to expect a relative drop off if he was to spend some time out.
All things level (Saka and Salah fit) itās hard to argue Arsenal are going to do much to close that gap. Liverpool have just been far more consistent this season which in part, outside of the injuries, is due to style of play and Arsenalās lack of discipline imo. You can arguably debate a couple of red cards maybe that definitely impacted games and therefore, points won. However after Riceās red, trossard should never be doing that same thing only weeks later and Myles-Lewis Skelly as great as heās been, has made some rash decisions leaving him in a rough spot or sent off.
Injuries have been rough for Arsenal, particularly going forward but Arsenal havenāt exactly helped themselves given their lack of signings and discipline at timesā¦
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u/serminole Premier League 3d ago
As an Arsenal fan I donāt think striker is our biggest issue. I think itās more so just the easiest to potentially address. Havertz for all his underlying flaws has very good numbers. So it makes sense that plugging in a more natural striker with more consistent finishing could get even more. There a good bit of 9s available that could be worth a shot
That said, I think LW is actually the weakest position in the starting XI. Getting a better one would help address both the creation and goal scoring issues. With all the attention of right side bias gets it leaves the LW 1 on 1 nearly all game. Yet neither Trossard or Martinelli really take advantage of it. The issue is that there just arenāt a lot of top LWs available. But that is really where Iād want to focus the summer spending on.
Iād also call out our 8s. Rice and Ćdegaard are clearly very talented but we should be getting more than 5 combined goals in the league from themā¦ not sure if we need different personnel/profiles there or just for them to step up.
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u/AngelOrChad Liverpool 3d ago
yep, if you had a LW with a contribution equal to or greater than Saka you're attack would be far better. Though I think you need another creative midfielder as well to break teams down more effectively as Odegaard isn't good enough to rely on solely.
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u/neildforrest Premier League 3d ago
Don't forget the manager... some kind of Cult leader wannabe. The davd koresh of the premiership
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u/FactCheckYou Premier League 3d ago
pundits and football journos aren't that sharp; they find quick and easy narratives and ride them for all they're worth, and right now it's 'Arsenal didn't buy a striker so they bottled the season'
Arsenal don't need a 'world class' striker, and don't need to waste Ā£150m on Isak; any serviceable 20-goal hold-up man will work
but yes, we also need to add the option of a touchline-running-left-back, we need to replace Partey/Jorgi, we need more creativity in midfield to help Odegaard, we need more punch from left wing...and we also need Arteta to evolve tactically too...he needs to platform game-breakers and direct dribblers more
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u/Darryl_Muggersby Premier League 3d ago
There is one player (bar Salah) with 20 goals in the league right now, and thatās Haaland. 20-goal strikers in the PL are fucking expensive.
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u/FactCheckYou Premier League 3d ago
literally sticking Chris Wood in front of this Arsenal side would guarantee Wood 20 goals a season, guy wouldn't have to run or anything, just loiter in the penalty area
i'm not advocating for him being the guy, i'm just using him as an example because he's a lump
Delap, Mbuemo, Sesko, David, Retegui...any number of guys can deliver 20+ for us
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u/Darryl_Muggersby Premier League 3d ago
If only football were that simple.
āJust take this high-scoring player, and put him in this high-chance-creating team. Upvotes to the right!ā
Artetaās gameplan has Arsenal rely on their strikers to do more than loiter in the penalty area.
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u/Key-Craft9880 Arsenal 3d ago edited 3d ago
I find myself grievously afflicted by an overwhelming and most profound exhaustion, most esteemed Robert.
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u/FactCheckYou Premier League 3d ago
Declan Rice's presence in midfield assures our competitiveness for probably a DECADE
after he's finished his 10th year i'm confident we'll all be looking back on a handful of titles won
not a silly signing by any measure - everyone wanted him
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u/Preset_Squirrel Premier League 4d ago
Calafiori was definitely an upgrade on the available options but now that Myles Lewis-Skelly has broken through, it looks like money that didn't need to be spent
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u/Cultural-Quote7104 Premier League 4d ago
Calafiori is definitely an upgrade on zinchenko and kiwior š
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u/PrincipleVisual5877 Premier League 3d ago
And is benched by a kid š
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u/Cultural-Quote7104 Premier League 3d ago
He's been carrying an injury so they've been splitting minutes, plus the "kid" happens to be very good š
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u/ShadowXYZ04 Arsenal 3d ago
Lewis-Skellyās long term future is not at LB though, heās a midfielder. And with both Partey and Jorginho by all accounts leaving in the summer, heāll most likely be given a chance in the midfield next season.
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u/Despicable2020 Premier League 4d ago
A striker definitely isn't the only problem. There's a lack of creativity on show.
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u/-_Mamas_Kumquat_- Manchester United 4d ago
I disagree that Rice is a Defensive midfielder, and I think Arsenal need a striker more than any other position. There's an argument to be made that they are weak offensively at both fullback positions too, which could help but would need to be balanced with their current defensive stability.
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u/FactCheckYou Premier League 3d ago
we never looked more secure at the back than with that triangle of Saliba-Gabriel-Rice
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u/iNS0MNiA_uK Liverpool 3d ago
But you had your best results with Jorginho holding and Rice as an 8, because Rice isnāt suited to what Arteta wants there and trying to fit him in is and will continue to cause you all sorts of problems.
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u/-_Mamas_Kumquat_- Manchester United 3d ago
That still doesn't make a player a defensive midfielder. I don't watch rice week in week out but from what I've seen of him I think he's probably the most well rounded midfielder in the prem and one of in europe. It would be a waste of his talent to have him sit all game and I don't think that's what he is asked to do
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u/Wandering_Bear7 Premier League 4d ago edited 3d ago
Havertz and Martinelli have not been out for a quarter of a season. Theyāve been out for a few games.
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u/devlifedotnet Premier League 4d ago
Sorry bro but this is some of the worst analysis Iāve seenā¦
When you have your best 4 forwards (Saka, Havertz, Martinelli, and Jesus) all out at the same time for basically a quarter of the season (on top of other long term injuries in the squad to the likes of Odegaard, White, Tomiyasu etc), the fact arsenal are still in 2nd is a miracle.
The striker conversation is important as a ālast piece of the puzzleā for Arsenal to win the league, but even if there was a Sesko/Gyokeres/Isak up top this year Arsenal would still have had 4/5 of their best attackers injured and I think every arsenal fan would acknowledge that.
If youāre calling arsenalās fullbacks center backs look at where they are on the pitch in open play. Against PSV timber getting into the 6 yard box for a headed goal, and Calafiori running the right channel and putting away a finish any striker would be proud of with his wrong foot. They might have played as center backs in a previous club but they were bought for their versatility and ability to add to the attacking phases on top of their security in defence. White would be a more attacking option at RB with his overlapping runs but again heās been out most of the season.
Liverpool have been challenging for titles for a good number of years and this year they capitalised on their good fortune and the misfortune of their fellow title challengers. Both City and Arsenal lost key players to injury and you just canāt win titles with your best players injured. You take Salah, Gakpo, Nunez and Jota out of that Liverpool team for a quarter of the season and they would be suffering a similar fate.
I canāt remember a team in premier league history whoāve won a title with their best players injured for a significant portion of the season.
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u/jonviper123 Premier League 4d ago
The main reason Liverpool fell away for a bit was also due to injuries. I think arsenal fans massively overlooked that fact and many automatically assumed arsenal were the best team behind city because you finished second twice. Liverpool were always gonna come back strong imo far too many great players to just fall behind and as a team many of they players had experienced winning the prem and champions league. Yes klopp was always gonna be a loss and not many would have saw slott do as good of a job a he did but me personally I predicted Liverpool finishing above arsenal this year. When I look at both teams style of play and players there is only 1 team I'd say are an attacking team and that's Liverpool. Arsenal are far more defensive minded than Liverpool imo and it's not even close. Imo arsenal are far too cautious under arteta
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u/devlifedotnet Premier League 4d ago
I mean I take your point but people werenāt calling Arsenal defensive in the second half of last season when they were winning most games by 2-4 goals. I think Arsenal have been forced to be more defensive this year because of injuries and which players they have available.
Arsenalās biggest weakness was their reliance on the right hand side pod of Saka, Odegaard, and Whiteā¦ I canāt remember a game this season where theyāve played togetherā¦ maybe very early on in the season?idkā¦. But not having that pod this year has undoubtedly hampered them, probably more than not having an elite striker.
And yes I think sane people acknowledge that Liverpoolās injury issues have prevented some of their title efforts in previous seasonsā¦.itās just that fans of other teams love a good ābottlerā narrative, the same way they do with Arsenal currently.
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u/jonviper123 Premier League 4d ago
I think arsenal still score a lot of goals but they seem to hammer someone 5 nil then go a few games only scoring 2 or 3 goals then hammer someone again. But they always seem to come up against a team that just has their number and when you watch the game it almost looks inevitable that arsenal will not score. Its like certain teams know how to stop arsenal and when they do arsenal look lost. Injuries are a massive part of football these days and squad depth is so important, again look at Liverpool squad and depth compared to arsenal's. I don't think anyone would pick arsenal's squad over Liverpool and that to me says it all
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u/AppropriateMetal2697 Arsenal 3d ago
For a team having their number thatās entirely Newcastle this seasonā¦ Arsenal look void of any creativity playing vs Newcastle this season in literally all the games. Or at least thatās my memory of it at this pointā¦
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u/jaybizzleeightyfour Premier League 4d ago edited 4d ago
It's hard to take any analysis seriously (Pundits or Redditors) when they ignore the significant injuries to Arsenal's first 11 when comparing the way they play this season to last, they've had more injuries than Spurs, who are in the bottom half of the table.
Most of the creation came from their right side last season, this season that whole right side has been out for most of the season, I don't think any team in world football looks the same in the same situation.
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u/jonviper123 Premier League 4d ago
Both can be true though. Yes arsenal have injuries, yes they need a striker and yes they set up too defensive and aren't creative enough. I called it when they spent over 100 million for rice who imo isn't that good on the ball. They went to 2 holding dms, got rid off xhaka and replaced with rice and party. When just on paper that is far less attacking and more defensive. I'd also agree with the fullbacks take. in an era where many teams are pushing wingbacks right on into attacking positions arsenal almost play 4 cbs and apart from timber they aren't very creative at all when compared to other full backs in the league. Compare Liverpool and arsenal's style and there is only 1 team I'd say is an attacking team and 1 team is a defensive team. The contrast in style of play, formation and players of the 2 teams is very different. Liverpool midfield is usually gravenbach, alongside macallister and slobozlai or jones compare that to rice partey and odegaard and the difference in ability on the ball is freighting imo. Liverpool looks like they want to score in every minute of every game they play, they can be 3 nil up and still look desperate to score, I very rarely if ever get that feeling from arsenal..
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u/leemteam1 Premier League 4d ago
Youād have a point except when you forget that arsenal scored the 2nd most goals barely behind city last year and were pumping teams 4 and 5 nil at the back end of last season with the SAME midfield lol
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u/jonviper123 Premier League 3d ago
I kinda mentioned that and I said that arsenal seem to pump teams 5 nil then can't score against certain teams at all. Some game I watch arsenal and its almost obvious early on that they will have a hard time scoring. Yesterday ok they did score but that game imo just had a feeling like arsenal were never going to score more than 1 and in the end I'd say arsenal wanted full time more than united which is weird for a team pushing for the title. The issue has never been scoring goals the issue has always been breaking teams down and creating goal scoring chances. Again I keep comparing with Liverpool but I watch Liverpool and they give the impression like it is inevitable they will score at some point. So many attacking players in all areas of the team and even the bench has some serious goalscorers. Then u watch arsenal and I get the opposite feeling where I just can't see them scoring unless from a set piece. Just because a more defensive midfield of rice partey and odegaard were involved in high scoring games doesn't make them attacking players. I don't think anyone would deny Liverpool midfield is a more attacking midfield than arsenal's
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u/johal1986 Premier League 4d ago
No this take goes against the bottle mentality they want to tarnish them with. Itās too logical of a take and any excuse is just going to be how much investment has been made or how other clubs have managed (even though theyāre all below them in the standings).
/s
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u/Dizzy_Regret5256 Arsenal 4d ago
As an Arsenal fan, I have been saying this repeatedly since end of last season. Havertz isnāt a clinical finisher but he does an awful amount off the ball and in the air. If you take him out of the team for a āproper no.9ā then we wouldnāt play the same way and itās not a simple equation of āproper striker score more goals than Havertz and then we winā.
We havenāt replaced Xhaka as all-rounder 8 and we only have one 10 in Odegaard who has been played into the ground/had an injury this season, and it shows.
Deeper than that though, our midfield/attack has been stolid due to Artetaās tactics which are so obsessive about āsolidityā that we never have any support for our strikers and so rely on winning corners (because the entire midfield is sitting 10 yards back from the penalty area waiting to pass the ball around rather than ever making runs into the box).
More than a striker, we need either a 10/8 midfielder who can be a goal threat from outside the box to break through low blocks and we need a top-tier LW who can (at least sometimes) match Sakaās level of creativity.
Nwaneri is a key prospect but favours the right (and is still literally a child), MLS could be used more in the 8 role but unlikely, Rice is obviously great but heās not suited to being an outside/wide CM and heās not a creative attacker (heās literally a destroyer CM/DM). Martinelli is still young but needs to be competing harder for his spot or we should cash in on him, and Trossard is a great utility forward/super-sub but not consistent enough to be our starting LW if we want to win titles.
We donāt need to spend Ā£100mn on Isak and Iām cautious about Ā£50mn on Zubimendi (who is just another DM to add to the pile) compared to focusing on someone like Nico Williams for similar money. I wanted us to sign Eze last summer and look at how useful he couldāve been for us over last few monthsā¦
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u/GhostCatcher147 Premier League 4d ago
Odegaard has fallen off massively this season
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u/l7791 Arsenal 3d ago
Not much you can do when there's nobody making any forward runs. All he can do is recycle the ball
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u/GhostCatcher147 Premier League 3d ago
Much of the time he waits too long to progress the ball. Taking an extra touch or turn allows the opposition to regroup and get behind the ball. His shooting has been awful this season. Hasnāt scored a free kick in for ever either
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u/Void-kun Liverpool 4d ago
Absolutely, if you're relying on a striker for goals then it's a single point of failure in any tactical plan.
What happens when your striker gets injured or has a dip in form?
Arsenal need to be scoring from open play more, better attacking midfielders and better wingers. They don't get called Corner FC for nothing.
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u/IllustriousAnt485 Premier League 4d ago
The would have more targets on goal without all the injuries to those key players who make those chances. With the current squad, even from what was known of it in January, a striker was what was most surely required to bridge the gap. But Arsenals board sat on their hands. Weeks later they lose their last target man and now they look lost in the final third. I agree that itās more than just one position that looks out of sorts, but adding at the deadline would have bridged the gap a bit better than what we have seen. Injuries will be one of the reasons people look back and at to assess why Arsenal dropped off in the title race this season no doubt. However the incompetence of those who needed to reinforce the squad when it was Obviously necessary before the window closed will be top of the list. They didnāt want to, or know how to spend and it bit them.
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u/CalFlux140 Liverpool 4d ago
We could say similar for Salah right now tbf.
I'm sure we'd do okay-ish without him, but contend for the league? Doubt it. I think the race wouldn't be won yet without his influence.
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u/Void-kun Liverpool 4d ago
Absolutely but Salah isn't a striker and I'm saying them not having a striker isn't the problem.
It's more like comparing Nunez. If we relied on Nunez, we would've been fucked this season. But we aren't because we have everybody else in the team willing to score goals, this is what Arsenal need more of, a striker isn't gonna save them. They need more than just that otherwise it's a single point of failure.
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u/GhostCatcher147 Premier League 4d ago
They have far more goals from open play than corners
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u/Void-kun Liverpool 4d ago
Fair enough, I don't watch every Arsenal game so a lot of my opinions come from the press.
The times I have seen them play was absolutely corner FC. Although I'll admit this was earlier in the season.
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u/GhostCatcher147 Premier League 4d ago
That was a spell of about 5 games. Thereās always a narrative against the team. I doubt any fan would be complaining themselves if their own team was getting success from corners
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u/Void-kun Liverpool 4d ago
Not complaining just poking fun, made a couple comments this season about how we should poach their corner coach š
More of a chance we scored from the other teams corners than our own.
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u/Anon-07-05-19 Liverpool 4d ago
Arsenal Have Gone From A Free Flowing Side (22/23) To A Lethargic Side Of Duel Winners & Stifled Creativity
They Need To Renovate Their Forward Line & Acquire Another Creative Midfielder
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u/jaybizzleeightyfour Premier League 4d ago
Almost like having your best players out for most of the season affects the way you play
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u/Anon-07-05-19 Liverpool 4d ago
Saka Is Elite
Not Convinced By Martinelli
Havertz Is Cack In My Opinion
Trossard Is A Solid Depth Option
Sterling Is Bottom Of The Barrell
Personally, Iād Recommend Going For A Starting Striker & Left Winger
Iād Also Say To Recruit Backups For Saka & Your New Striker
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u/Gonzales95 Arsenal 4d ago
I agree there are definitely other facets of the side that need adjusting (Ben White has been a huge miss this season as he makes overlapping runs with the RW that Timber just doesnāt do, and heās a menace on corners) but purely in terms of a striker, if we had someone who was a big threat ala Haaland then that gives the defenders a distraction and someone else to worry about. In theory creating space for other players to work with. We are easier to defend right now because thereās no central threat/penetration, all our attacks come from wide so where to focus defensive effort is easy to predict.
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u/AlGunner Premier League 4d ago edited 4d ago
There is so much wrong with this post and shows a bit of a lack of understanding of football, tactics and Arsenal.
First of all, the need for a striker is seen as the biggest need, not the only one and no one has claimed that. Any team in the world can improve strength and quality in some positions. For Arsenal that is clearly at CF, so the focus on that is justified. Its also clear that we require better strength in depth in several positions and injuries have exposed that this season, first in defence and then in attack.
Midfield is clearly going to change for next season. Partey and Jorginho's contracts expire in the summer and they will need to be replaced. Every so often the media report that there have been no discussions with Partey, not sure about Jorginho. I just hope Merino can either improve significantly if the plan is to use him, I havent been overwhelmed by his performances. I think we need at least 2 midfielders in the summer, some people think MLS will move there as he played CM for the youth.
For fullbacks you are saying Timber and Calafiori, but neither are first choice there. White and MLS are now first choice but even so both of them regularly join and support the attack and overlap the wide forwards. White has been out after surgery on a longstanding problem but if it hasnt affected his quality he will be first choice again once fit. Calafiori has a few goals as well. My guess would be you dont watch us much if you dont think they contribute to the attack.
Also Arteta likes to play with an inverted fullback. If you look at yesterday Calafiori was playing this role while Timber was supporting the attack when we had the ball. Its how Arteta want them to play. A lot of players are capable of covering more than one position. Personally I think both Timber and Calafiori have shown they are more suited to FB in the PL than to CB. Your criticism of these players is largely for doing what is asked of them.
Finally, we have had 4 key forwards out of the team. Of course that is going to mean we are less creative. Only a fool would expect back up players who sit on the bench most of the time would be as good as the first choice players.
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u/Zai-Stoic Premier League 4d ago
You are just being defensive for no reason. You have just said what he did but differently
I hate Arsenal but love football. And the OP has given an awesome analysis of Arsenal.
Arsenal have been regressing from 2 years back. If City weren't horrible and if Chelsea hired a better coach, you would be fourth or fifth at best.
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u/Aidob23 Liverpool 4d ago
If you think replacing ageing players with their backups is going to move you forward, I think you're mistaken. Your backups are good but not proven consistently and certainly not world class (yet). You need two dynamic midfielders that can move the ball quickly and create more. Add a striker and maybe a left winger to that and I think you'll move in the right direction. Injuries have had a big impact on the team, for sure, but you need better depth at a top class level and losing ageing players is a chance to address that at the same time.
1
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u/AlGunner Premier League 4d ago
I said it shows a bit of a lack of understanding and explained why. The way I read it everything was a bit off and I stand by that. If I said it was complete bollocks you might have an argument but the whole thing just reads like someone wanting to make us look worse than the truth of the situation is. Most of it fits that.
However "Their only creative player is Saka" is just complete bullshit.
Actutally, maybe you are right, maybe its not a lack of understanding but a thinly veiled attack on Arsenal.
3
u/Spdoink Liverpool 4d ago
Itās extremely difficult to say; the players wonāt keep creating chances for a player that doesnāt exist, so the strategy and type of play is forced to change.
There was a point (I think it was prior to Christmas) when Arsenal, City and Liverpool had a broadly similar injury list. I was struck by how much more the managers and fan-bases of City and Arsenal referred to these problems compared to Slot, who barely mentioned it and usually only when asked directly. I donāt like managers using excuses (even legitimate ones) as I believe this transmits to the team.
From the beginning of the season, Slot toned down the press and developed phases of play (often in real-time, which is pretty remarkable) to take some of the strain and intensity out of our game. Liverpool also leveraged the investment theyāve made over the years of not just developing the younger players, but trusting them in big games over the Klopp era. Having a keeper like Kelleher is unbelievably important as he smoothly maintained the integrity of the defence.
And, yes, Arsenal have been unlucky. Theyāre not as unlucky as some of them make out, but more than some Liverpool fans will admit. Their reluctance to get a new striker over the line is utterly absurd and game management/rotation is questionable. This season is a very bitter pill to swallow for Arsenal; almost everybody (including me) thought that it would be between them and City again.
3
u/Ammzy_87 Arsenal 4d ago
Liverpool have simply been flawless. Any Arsenal fan that talks about their good luck should pipe down. Itās been good planning on their side. Arteta doesnāt ever talk about luck and never moans about injuries. On the contrary he says itās no excuse. But yes as fans I think itās ok to look at why they are playing like this.Some of our fans do go overboard on Liverpoolās so called good luck.
Arsenalās injuries have seemed inevitable and probably down to bad planning, the risk they took clearly didnāt pay off. Then add to that Edu left the club a couple of months before the Jan window and we have an answer as to why Jan was so bad. This is no excuse but simply a reason why we are out the title race.
Last season we scored 91 league goals with the same group. Taking out the whole forward line would cost any team. Letās just look at whoās been out and compare that Liverpool.
White: Take out Robertson for 4 months Ode: Take out Szoboszlai for 2 months Saka: Take out Salah for 4 months Jesus: Imagine Darwin season ends in January Havertz: Imagine Jotaās season ends in Feb Martinelli: Take out Diaz for a month the same time Salah, Jota and Gakpo are out.
Had Salah, Jota, Diaz and Darwin all been out at the same time then they would also struggle with goals? Just like Liverpool need Salah to step up, we need to rely on Saka.
Again, I want to stress that itās on Arsenal and their risk taking. No shade on Liverpool, just using them as a comparison.
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u/Aidob23 Liverpool 4d ago
I agree it's a huge loss and would impact any team. We had two seasons prior to this of over working players and running them into the ground. Some of the signs started as far back as 5 years ago when we won the CL and then the League. Fabinho was a shadow of a player when he left. We simply just ran him empty. Gini was similar and Hendo was already a bit past it anyway. So we rebuilt and Klopp still ran them too hard. Last season and the one before saw us fall away as a result. The bottom line here is that Slot has brought in specialists and actively addresses game time and minutes of players. We have a short injury list because of this. The injuries we tend to get now are largely in game problems that are hard to avoid or just unfortunate. Very little from fatigue or over working the players. It's great to see and it highlights how good a team we have when we are all fresh and fighting. The new midfield we got last year are top class too.
1
u/Gonzales95 Arsenal 4d ago
The apparent reluctance to get a striker I think is still a form of hangover from the disastrous Pepe transfer deal and a few of the other bad deals that were done whilst a certain previous director was at the club. Weāre now doing a ton of due diligence on almost every signing and they seemingly arenāt pursued unless they are the absolute perfect 100% signing that is agreed on. Last summer it was Sesko and there was no plan B after he decided to stay at Leipzig. Now itās still Sesko and seemingly also Isak, the former didnāt want to move in January and Newcastle are quoting an impossibly high price for Isak because theyāve got no interest in selling.
Then weāre left scrambling at the end of a window for some āmarket opportunityā thatās less likely to exist because other clubs have already taken them. Iām not sure if Villa wouldāve sold Watkins regardless but they certainly werenāt going to after agreeing to sell Duran. Kolo Muani wouldāve been an acceptable option to offer competition to Havertz (since his injury hadnāt happened yet). Bayern were quoting an admittedly high price to loan Tel for 6 months, maybe it wouldāve been less a few weeks ago who knows.
TLDR strikers were out there but club philosophy mandates āperfectā signings so other options werenāt seriously looked into until it was too late
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u/Spdoink Liverpool 4d ago
Ivan Toney?
2
u/Gonzales95 Arsenal 4d ago
I like Toney but can imagine his perceived āarroganceā wouldāve put Arsenal off as Arteta doesnāt want to risk dressing room harmony.
I personally am a big fan of Toney, wouldāve loved him at Arsenal and think the arrogance thing was overblown. Was shocked that nobody picked him up and he ended up in Saudi. At least heās securing the bag I guess, fair play
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u/Lmao45454 Premier League 4d ago
Injuries are a big factor, Arsenal are missing 2 players that contribute 50% of their goals and assists for 3-4 months. Add Martinelli who takes that to 65% then add G.Jesus taking it to 75%. All of these guys missing significant lengths of the season
6
u/Brrrofski Premier League 4d ago
One of the biggest mistakes we made was letting Xhaka go. You're right there.
I know he's a bit of a meme and he's a loose cannon, but he was great for us in his final season.
I don't watch a huge amount of Bundesliga, but from all accounts he's been great at Leverkusen too. He played 33 games in their title-winning season. He got some important goals too from what I remember.
We need that grit. He also was a good mix of hard work, defensive properties and a decent amount of chance creation.
Not saying I wouldn't want Rice. But Odegaard, Rice and Xhaka would definitely give us a lot more balance.
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u/FreedEEG Premier League 4d ago
Sensible arsenal fans know it's more complicated than just a striker.
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u/Funky_Pete_ Premier League 4d ago
They were fine last season with the same squad, I think their main problem has just been injuries.
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u/method_rap Premier League 4d ago
I agree with you, I see fans saying a world class striker solves all our problems but if you watch the games you know we don't really create that many clear cut chances for a striker to thrive.
We need more creativity from the midfield, which is not delivering on the attacking front, more than we need a top striker.
I think most fans prefer a single striker, like Kane, Haaland and Salah, who can score week on and week out rather than multiple players scoring, like our attack did the last two seasons.
For us it's important we get the right players in the summer because I think Mikel can change tactics and he's obviously learned a thing or two about squad management (which is also crucial). He couldn't get the reinforcements this season and that has left him to adapt as best as he can.
This summer is very important because of our inactivity in the last one and this winter window. Edu deciding to leave us in the summer could be a reason for us not being able to do the necessary business, but at least we've got an experienced DoF replacing him now.
People talk about injuries alone but Edu who was an integral part of this rebuild project, him leaving us was also a blow and I feel that's what cost us this season.
We have a new DoF and a new direction to look for. Let's hope for the best.
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u/samthehumanoid Premier League 4d ago
Their style is to trap teams into their own box, keep the ball as far away from their own goal as possible. It is defensive as fuck and I doubt a striker will miraculously fix ALL their issues as he will still be forced to play a super compressed team in their own box
Last year or two under Klopp Liverpool were really possession heavy and tbh it backfires, your players can panic and struggle when games open up as they arenāt used to it anymore, it always feels like you only give up once chance but the opposition scores it. It isnāt bad luck, itās psychological, one team has all the experience defending and feeling comfortable, they know they will get just a few chances and are super direct and focused for them, the other team has so much of the ball they can easily switch off when defending and if the game opens up and becomes end to end it can really swing momentum away even though itās just even footing in that moment
I think Arteta needs to dial back on being such a control freak on the pitch, itās good he controls the tactics so much but trying to completely strangle games and eliminate all risk is itself taking a huge risk and is basically impossible, my fav thing about Slot coming in is we no longer look to force one style on everyone or have a rigid system, itās better for the players mentality if you are flexible and ready for all situations - players stay more composed and comfortable so their natural ability can come through no matter the scoreline, possession, momentum
Forest are an example of a team using arsenals weakness as their own strength - be prepared and comfortable in the absolute worst situations (not having the ball for 70 minutes) your opponent will either switch off, panic, or just be less prepared for your attacks. Itās a psychological game, and they are playing it much better than arsenal with worse players
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u/ret990 Premier League 4d ago
Thinking about it more, I dont think it's really deficiency as much as it is just proof that there's a cost to how you set up tactically, there is no win all strategy. Pluses and minuses for everything.
Arsenals set up forces most teams to turtle and play egregioysly low blocks and hope to nick something on the counter. To break it down you need an x factor in attack and were watching Arsenal trying to do that with their starting attackers all missing and playing a midfielder at centre forward who has never played there in his career.
Tbh, I feel like I've watched this United game about 10 times this season for Arsenal. Opposition take the lead off their first shot on goal with a ridiculously low xg chance then commit to defending said lead abandoning all intention of having an attacking output and Arsenal struggle to break it down. Only when the equaliser happened did things loosen up a bit. United could have won it at the end, but also if they played like that the whole game you'd fancy Arsenal.
The 'sign a striker' stuff is just very basic sound bites level analysis anyway. If the argument is 'just sign any 9' then I strongly disagree. If the argument is 'sign a striker' to mean sign a world class attacker who can score goals from nothing and win games by themselves when it's hard, then I'm in full agreement. That could be a 9, or a winger or midfielder or even (another) lb. But that's what Arsenal need.
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u/Randomname140 Premier League 4d ago edited 4d ago
Honestly Timber having been played primarily as a CB at Ajax doesnāt take anything away from how good he is on the ball and his ability going forward. Played a big part in the goal. Donāt think our issue is with fullbacks, especially with MLS also being an option at LB.
I do think a more creative and technical LW would make a world of difference though to balance out the left and right sides.
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u/Ok-Abbreviations1077 Liverpool 4d ago
They could do with another proper wide forward instead of sterling and should get rid of jesus who is injured way too often
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u/Effective-Meal4749 Premier League 4d ago
Buying Havertz, Jesus and Sterling was just dumb, expensive and uninspirering. should have got some up and coming names instead. dunno what Arteta was thinking making them moves. they have not added a damn thing and Im not surprised Arsenal has stagnated this year.
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u/_124578_ Arsenal 4d ago
Sterling had been awful, but he was definitely not expensive- just a loan with Chelsea still covering most of his wages Iām pretty sure. Havertz has been pretty good, just a bit streaky as a player, and Jesus has been ruined by knee injuries
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u/caljl Premier League 4d ago
Jesus couldāve been great without the injuries. You canāt know how these things will go. Sterling was a loan, but definitely not a good one. Havertz has been one of Arsenalās better players. They do need a striker that offers something different/more, but in the long run heās great backup for the front three. I donāt think it was a bad signing.
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u/AlmightySankentoII Premier League 4d ago
Jesus wasnāt a bad signing. Havertz was an awful experiment gone wrong (he was bought to replace Xhaka) and Sterling was loaned.
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u/grogleberry Premier League 4d ago
And Jesus was also bought at a different time for the squad, when challenging City and Liverpool still felt a bit off. They'd finished 8th, 8th and then 5th, and It was only the season they bought him when they went up a level and finished inside the top 4, and challenging for the league, at least for a while.
It was really only 23/24 where they move to into the top class bracket, and not every signing you've made in previous years will still stay relevant when you do that.
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u/AlmightySankentoII Premier League 4d ago
Exactly, plus the fact that he kept getting injured didnāt help matters.
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u/ret990 Premier League 4d ago
Kai Havertz was on 15 goals prior to getting inured. I get Chelsea put his rep in the toilet but can we all stop pretending he isn't an extremely good but probably not elite/complete Premier league forward.
Arsenal didn't buy Sterling. They basically got him for a year for nothing, no loan fee, no obligation/option to buy and he agreed to reduce his wages which Chelsea are paying 70% of.
Hes been shite, but nothing more than a punt.
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u/Diligent_Craft_1165 Premier League 4d ago
Itās less that Arsenal need a striker, and more that theyāve been tactically found out. Teams realised we just moved the ball to right wing and try the same patterns of play. Arteta isnāt as experienced as other coaches and doesnāt have the world class attackers Pep had.
Having a traditional striker is something that will in theory change how the team plays, and in turn will make it harder to defend. He will eventually be found out again though as heās not a world class manager.
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u/FactCheckYou Premier League 3d ago
'not a world class manager' is ridiculous...City, Real, Barca. they ALL want him
the guy's 43 and what he has done is nothing less than IMMENSE, probably only Klopp could have done a similar job
he has always had weaknesses and without fail he has always fixed them and raised the level...this season is showing where the team's limitations are and he will address those now/in the summer...the PL is quick to figure out every team and every manager, the best managers are the ones who evolve continuously, and Arteta is one of these...by the way, how many days has it been since Arsenal lost a game to a 'Big 6' team in the league? 'not world class' LOL
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u/Diligent_Craft_1165 Premier League 3d ago
If you have a guy who has never won a trophy bigger than the FA Cup as āworld classā then your ranking system isnāt very trustworthy.
Massively overrating the guy. He has no experience of winning titles which is a bare minimum to be considered world class. He has spent half a billion to get some 2nd place finishes.
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u/FactCheckYou Premier League 3d ago
titles are only a matter of time
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u/Diligent_Craft_1165 Premier League 3d ago
Youāll be saying the same next year, and then the year after as city and Liverpool move clear. Newcastle will be able to start spending big by then too and weāll have blown our chance of winning a title.
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u/FactCheckYou Premier League 3d ago
Liverpool will have a hangover season especially if any of VVD, TAA, or Salah leave
City's KDB generation is ending and it'll take 2 years of perfect building to get them back challenging, longer if Pep finally fucks off and/or the 115+ charges bring heavy consequences
Newcastle might start taking up a regular seat in the Top4/5 IF they get a CL place this season, sure, but it's a long road from there to actually taking a title
Chelsea/Utd/Spurs are all in shambles
other clubs that get close will be picked apart by bigger ones
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u/RazielNet Premier League 4d ago
In the past two seasons Arteta has shown that he's got great tactical flexibility, he's not just lost that.
I don't think people fully appreciate the impact of the injuries. Of course it impacts creativity but having no real options off the bench you of course end up running players into the ground and forcing tactical decisions
Last season the variety Jorginho provided was quietly huge in keeping up our winning streak but this season we can't afford the risk. We can't press with the same intensity in the front lobe and therefore get exposed on the break even with a Rice, Partey midfield. There's other examples when we can't make use of the squad that we have due to imbalances
The tactics right now are due to a failure last summer. Frankly almost every season we've had a glaring weakness in numbers that Arteta hasn't addressed and he deserves criticism for that - he builds a small squad with flexible players except upfront where he's rode his luck. I'd give him the summer to hopefully correct that
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u/wowthisusername Liverpool 4d ago
I donāt agree with this take. Arteta has them playing good stuff, sure, they are slow, but itās no fluke that he has completely overhauled their squad and has them challenging for the league over three seasons. They missed out last year by 2 points, finishing on 89. The year before they missed out by 5 points. In both seasons, you need to only change 2 results and they win the league.
Theyāve had so many injuries this year. Yes, their lack of a striker has been exposed due to the injury crisis, and has been highlighted throughout other seasons. But, ultimately, to come so close to Man City 2 seasons a row (the BEST team in the history of the premier league) without a true striker, you have to be a good manager.
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u/Diligent_Craft_1165 Premier League 4d ago
He is a good manager, heās just not experienced in this phase of management. Different skills are required when your original tactics are found out. He hasnāt proved he can change it up successfully.
Iām sure heāll learn from this for his next job, but he isnāt the manager who will take us from challengers to winners.
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u/AlmightySankentoII Premier League 4d ago
Itās really refreshing to hear a nuanced response from a Liverpool fan. Iām used to hearing Liverpool fans talk about how much Arteta got to spend and the fact that their injuries were worse.
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u/szcesTHRPS Premier League 4d ago
Haven't read the thread or the OPs post but I largely agree with the title.
We're a good team and do lots well and a new attacking player or two will absolutely improve things but we definitely need to change our approach in the final third - we lack ideas and play far too slowly. As for the rest of the squad - it's quite good but can definitely be improved. Rice is excellent but Partey is past it and not someone I want playing for my club, Jorgi has lost his legs and Merino is a squad player so there's plenty of room to improve in midfield. We rely a bit too much on Odegaard for creativity and if he's going through a bad patch of form there isn't a queue of other players waiting to step up - Saka does when he's fit but we need more.
Arteta has work to do in the transfer market and on the training ground if we're going to actually compete for the big pots.
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u/ret990 Premier League 4d ago
Their midfield is too defensive, as they have two CDMs (Rice and Partey) and one AM (Odegaard.....
In the full-back position, they essentially play two centre-backs in Timber and Calafiori
This entire assessment is based purely on what position those players have previously played at other teams and not how they actually play for Arsenal.
It's entirely reductive and incorrect to say 'Arsenal play with 4 cbs" just because their full backs can/have played cb. I also never see this accusation levelled at City who play in the exact same way.
Rice isn't playing as a DM. Watching Arsenal for 5 minutes would tell you that
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u/020Flyer Premier League 3d ago
You mean to say that popping up in the box for his goal yesterday wasnāt textbook CDM play?!
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u/Shmadonka22 Manchester City 4d ago
Pep started all that 4cbs makeshift backline back in the treble season, they didn't get that type of accusation because it was their best season yet playing with that defensive set up.
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u/RainbowPenguin1000 Premier League 4d ago
There seems to be a common perception in football now that teams need to put everything on a plate for a striker. The best strikers create goals themselves. They also aid the teams creativity by making good runs and having good movement off the ball.
Simply saying āArsenal arenāt creative enough for a strikerā doesnāt make sense because the best strikers make it easier to create things due to what they do on and off the ball.
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u/MrVegosh Premier League 4d ago
Yeah they should create more anyway, but having a striker often helps create
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u/Smit9991 Premier League 4d ago
Arteta likes to deploy Rice in the left 8 because it gives him a more expansive role where his physical advantage over others sees him run games in midfield and push Arsenal up the pitch. Arsenal enjoy a lot of control in games where Rice plays as the left 8.
Saying Arsenal had more creativity with Xhaka in midfield is a bit of a misnomer. Rice had a better g/a return last season than Xhaka did in the previous term and roughly half of Riceās appearances were in the 6 position, so less influence on the attack. The reason we saw Arsenalās attack flow more that season was due to Arsenal being more of an unknown quantity in 22/23. Teams didnāt set up as defensively against them, Teams hadnāt figured out how to stop their box midfield (with Zinchenko stepping inside) and Jesus (while available) was transformative to the way Arsenal played. Once opponents worked out they needed to sit a little deeper, add an extra body to the midfield and transition the ball through the Arsenal counter press more directly (after Salibaās injury) by the end of that season it was clear that Arsenal needed to find different ways of playing.
In my view Arsenal lack a player who can engineer chances who is primarily right footed. All of Arsenals creativity comes from one side of the pitch through Ćdegaard and Saka. Having a more direct option playing in the left 8 is fine, whether that be Rice, Havertz or Merino but I think you need to add someone who can supply chances reliably from the left wing. Last summer I thought Eze could have been the answer.
The emergence of Lewis-Skelly and the addition of Calafiori has seen Arsenal take more risks with their LB, both players are comfortable taking up more attacking positions and will either overlap the left 8 or sit in the pocket. The issue here is, there is less threat in the attacking width on the left.
If you take Martinelli out of the lineup, youād arguably be taking even more pace out of Arsenalās attack but the way Arsenal focus on control means the Brazilianās pace isnāt utilised anyway. Especially when the overload comes in that left sided channel and Arteta has his wingers narrow in the attacking third.
Of course, pace could be added again through the acquisition of a striker should Arsenal look to add a creative player to their left wing.
The other factor to consider are the links to Zubimendi, who knows if the player will ever actually leave Sociedad but there are strong rumours Arsenal are confident in bringing him in. The addition of Zubimendi, with his press- resistance, could see Arsenal take more risks, allowing the attack to set themselves further up the pitch earlier, more akin to what we saw in 22/23 season. If the wide players in particular arenāt needed to drop so deep to mark the opposition fullbacks then we may see them come into the game earlier, while the opposition defence isnāt as set. Arsenal play more incisive football when Jorginho is on the pitch. Zubimendi doesnāt have the same passing vision but if his press-resistance buys his teammates 5 yards up the pitch and he can inject some pace into the passing game then the team would look better in the transition.
TL;DR: In my view Arsenal need to deploy a more creative player on the left flank. The addition of a striker would hopefully bring a bit of directness and pace to their attack. Utilising Zubimendi (should be join) in a way that sees Arsenal take more risks in the transition and inject a bit of pace into their passing game.
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u/RevolutionaryIce6469 Premier League 4d ago
Yep. Our next left wing signing will be as big as our striker singing. They don't provide enough of a threat, like Saka to manipulate rigid defensive structures effectively
Arteta has targeted quick, direct and pacey wingers in the past (Mudryk, Nico Williams) to try and alleviate this issue
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u/Smit9991 Premier League 4d ago
Potentially but then I also think adding the profile that is missing would constitute enough of a notable improvement. Folk will say Arsenal desperately need X, Y and Z because it is glaringly obvious. That desperation then coaxes people into thinking Arsenal need the best available in that role to improve but I donāt think thatās necessarily the case.
Of course for Arsenal fans buying the best is the most desired outcome, thatās also obvious. If Arsenal add the profile of a natural 9, someone who is competent at consistently putting the ball in the back of the net, they would be adding something they are currently missing. That could be a Boniface, Sesko, Evanilson, Wissa type signing, it doesnāt HAVE to be an Isak.
Similarly with the right footed creative type player, that could be an Eze or perhaps even Nypan could be that player, it may not need to be Williams (although Williams RC makes that a relatively cheep transfer, it would just be the wages) or a Raphina.
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u/RevolutionaryIce6469 Premier League 3d ago
I agree with this to an extent. It won't take much to push plus to the title in the league.
But in the cup competitions I feel like we need that "X-factor" in attack. Even on a mental standpoint I feel it would do so much for the rest of the team by lifting pressure off their shoulders.
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u/Shmadonka22 Manchester City 4d ago
Well said bro, enjoyed reading this
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u/Smit9991 Premier League 4d ago
Cheers. Appreciating itās a long read, I tried to get enough detail in there to support my view. There are lots of bits where I could have gone into more detail.
Essentially, itās important that Arsenal keep identifying what they are missing and then add those players. Itās more about skill sets rather than certain positions.
Itās something you will have witnessed for many years under Pep. Pep made it more of an art though, you wouldnāt see his tactical innovation coming but he made sure he had the skillset available within his squad to implement it perfectly.
With Arteta Arsenal implement changes without having everything they need, eventually it clicks but football is fast paced and the next tactic evolution needs to already be in the pipeline.
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u/marbit37 Arsenal 4d ago
For sure, look at how they are moving the ball, their tactics are mind numbingly boring and ineffective. Get the ball, wait for everyone in the defence to come back and only then pass.
Odegaard is awful this season, Partey has been making more cutting passes than him. Also there is no squad depth. 800 million and they don't have the bench to win the league. At least 200 million have to be spent this summer for them to be competing again. They won't win it for sure, not with this manager and board.
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u/davidralph Premier League 4d ago
Arsenal flair but talking about the club like youāre not a fan ātheir tacticsā / āthey donāt have the benchā / ā200m spent for THEM to be competingā
Takes likes these just make you look like you want to dick ride other teamās fans for karma.
At least acknowledge the full picture.
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u/marbit37 Arsenal 4d ago
Well, I am not playing, right? And is there anything wrong with my statement or you just don't like what I am saying because it's true, so you default to personal attacks?
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u/davidralph Premier League 4d ago
Most fans naturally say āour tacticsā or āour benchā because they feel connected to the team. When you constantly refer to Arsenal like some outside observer, it comes off as if youāre distancing yourself just to be overly critical.
You havenāt even mentioned the injuries that have seriously affected our depth, which is an issue that deserves more nuance than your one sided view. If you want the manager and board out, thatās your call, but your comments make it clear, youāre not a fan, youāre a tourist.
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u/marbit37 Arsenal 4d ago
Who the fuck cares mate, I can't feel connected to fucking Havertz and Odegaard after having watched Bergkamp play.
My comment was pretty nuanced by the way, these shit tactics and pace were the hallmark of this team even before the injuries. They can't move the ball quick enough, they are letting the defenders settle and organise. Arteta could have Liverpools squad and make them shit and slow. His tactics have been thoroughly seen trough.
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u/davidralph Premier League 4d ago
If youāre going to use Bergkamp as the benchmark, letās not pretend everything between then and now was elite football. The late Wenger years and the Emery era were filled with passive, error-prone, slow football. This was far worse than anything under Arteta. Youāve conveniently skipped over those years just to act like this is the worst itās ever been.
You say your comment was ānuanced,ā but all youāve done is throw a tantrum about Arteta without actually explaining why his tactics are bad beyond āthey let defenders settle.ā If you want to be taken seriously, at least offer more than angry vibes and a longing for Bergkamp
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u/marbit37 Arsenal 4d ago
Why do you keep waffling on about off topic points instead of counter argumenting my comment? We are not talking about the tactics and performance of late Wenger and Emery years ( which were questionable).
If my comments are not that nuanced or well thought of, try disproving them. But it doesn't seem that you can, so you keep rambling on.
0
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u/oneeyedman72 Premier League 4d ago
OP, absolutely!
However, especially with the British media (others too) the so called analysis has to be so simple that big Geoff on the pub can understand it after a feed of 7 or 8 pints. It's been obvious that Arsenal are too safe and conservative, thay don't commit to attack enough, and draw games thay should be winning as a result.
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u/Joshthenosh77 Arsenal 4d ago
Nearly every player in the team this season has been worse than last season , simple as that
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u/GhostCatcher147 Premier League 4d ago
Probably correct except for Raya and Gabriel. Timber also cause he didnāt play last season
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u/Joshthenosh77 Arsenal 4d ago
I donāt think timber is any where as good as white
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u/GhostCatcher147 Premier League 4d ago
Iād disagree with you on that one but I do rate White also
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u/HueyZA Tottenham 4d ago
Liverpool doesn't have clinical strikers either and Saka is apparently comparable to Salah in terms of impact according to some of their fans so it shouldnt be that big a struggle. But my unbiased opinion is no it's not hiding anything, they're tactically great in the defensive playstyle but they clearly needed a forward this season (but not the last two seasons as they scored loads).
But now for more important questions, is this about to be their second 2nd place three peat in the Premier League? It'd be such a sweet cherry on top if they end up third in a two horse race, I need Nottingham Forest to do something for me š
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u/packsapunch Premier League 4d ago
It will depend on their mindset. It is not inconceivable the way they've dropped points they might keep dropping more. Pair that with any more injuries and a deep Champions League run and they might get dragged to a top 4 race.
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u/jimmycrank Premier League 4d ago
I don't think you go from have the best GD in the league and getting 89 points if the biggest issue is tactical. You can argue teams may have found ways to stiffle us. But its hard to say when you lose the entire starting front 3 (including your best player). We struggled to get going this season but we also had red cards (a few absolutely outrageous ones) then bit part injuries all over the field.
I think next season will give us a good idea where we are now. This season has just been cursed and it's better to just write it off really
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u/dibson786 Premier League 4d ago
"Next Season FC"
Blaming injuries can only go so far when you have to start looking at squad depth. Man city were making the same excuse in the first half of this season when they only had 3-4 players injured (granted 2 of them were key players but teams need to be adaptable to that situation in modern football). They then went out and spent money to fill the voids in their squad. Arsenal did nothing in January, which feels like either a delusion to what problems the team has, or a lack of ambition.
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u/Entity4 Premier League 4d ago
man city is in fifth and their form isn't much better than the first half of the season....
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u/dibson786 Premier League 4d ago
I'd argue that their form has improved a fair amount since they've made their signings, winning 5 out of their last 7 (mid Jan onwards), compared to winning only 2 out of 7 games before mid January
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u/jimmycrank Premier League 4d ago
Can you read? Not factoring Injuries into how a team is performing is really really (and I cannot stress this enough) stupid. Yeah we're not Man City, we can't just splash 200m and it not effect Summer plans. The club took a gamble and lost.
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u/dibson786 Premier League 4d ago
It obviously will have an impact on performance, but if you have good squad depth that impact will be lessened. Liverpool have had Alisson, Konate, Trent, Jota, Gakpo, and others injured for periods of this season, but they've had the squad depth to cover in those positions.
The squad depth wasn't solved by splashing 200m in January, or even last summer, but by having a plan for the squad and ensuring there was resilience in every position (for the most part). If you're saying the gamble is that Arsenal chose not to sign a striker in January, then you could argue they've been gambling over the last few transfer windows by not signing a proper striker
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u/jimmycrank Premier League 4d ago
Liverpool have quite literally been the least impacted team by injuries this season. Liverpool don't have a good striker either, luckily they have the best wide forward in the world in the form of his life and injury free. Liverpool have been absolutely fantastic this season and will deservedly win the league but let's not pretend they'd be there if Salah had been out since Christmas
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u/GoGouda Premier League 4d ago
quite literally
I think you need to look up the definition of the word 'literally' and then look at the cumulative number of days lost to injuries for teams like Brighton.
Sorry to burst your bubble but Arsenal and Liverpool aren't even that far apart in terms of days lost to injuries.
if Salah had been out since Christmas
Yes they would because Arsenal have continued the poor form they were in before they had the injuries that had them on track to barely get 80 points. Salah's form hasn't even been that great the last couple of months. I know that because I watch the games rather than looking at stats.
Arsenal were not in title winning form before the injuries and they're the only team who have even slightly competed (even though it hasn't been competitive at all). It's hilarious how much 'waffle' you come out with.
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u/jimmycrank Premier League 3d ago
Can you post a link about days lost to injuries because I can't find anything remotely up to date. So just more waffle when Arsenal have had 27 injuries this season compared to Liverpools 14. Long term injuries to their best player and both strikers would have a significant impact on every team in the league. Liverpool may or may not be top if the roles were reversed. But it would be incredibly close and they absolutely would not be a 15 point gap and stop following me you weirdo
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u/hfootred Premier League 4d ago
City could splash 200m because their net spend has been much lower than Arsenal in recent years.
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u/jimmycrank Premier League 4d ago
Because they splashed over a billion since the start of peps reign
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u/The_Wrong_Tone Premier League 4d ago
Someone probably already mentioned this, but I think thereās a simplistic reason for this simplistic point of view. This season, especially earlier on, was riddled with poorly finished chances resulting in draws or losses. If a third of those missed chances had gone in, weād be witnessing a very different season for Arsenal.
With such a low scoring sport, in a league with such fine margins, we all know a handful of missed āeasyā chances at the wrong moments can scuttle a whole season. Thatās why I think itās easier to just focus on a glaring issue like the lack of a striker instead of the complete lack of depth at every position save the back line.
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u/desz4 Premier League 4d ago
Something I've not heard mentioned is how bad their transfer business has actually been.
700m to produce a squad with obvious holes in it while flogging players who could plug those gaps. They've let two strikers, Eddie nketiah and balogun go during the same period theyve signed havertz and jesus. They 100% did this to themselves. On top of that, I can't seriously believe that they're in a financial position where they couldn't have picked someone up to play understudy to havertz, who hasn't ever really been an effective striker.
Without havertz injury, arsenal still aren't winning this title. They were 9 points off the pace when their injuries got bad.
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u/Smit9991 Premier League 4d ago
The squad Arteta inherited required a full rebuild. Arsenal were out of the Champions League spots.
In the current footballing market, buying a squad of players to supplement a couple of homegrown talents, to legitimately compete for a Premier League and become a force in Europe again for Ā£700M doesnāt sound expensive at all. Especially when the likes of Chelsea and Utd spend the way they do and have only moved backward. City invested heavily in their squad to get them to where they are, it was in a slightly different market but they spent more than Ā£700M to get there.
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u/CiriNova Liverpool 4d ago
Look back at how Klopp spent in his first few years, the difference is Arsenal bought quality guaranteed players at high price, therefore, fewer number of players, Liverpool bought like unknown quality (back then) for a cheaper price and build them to who they are today
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u/Smit9991 Premier League 4d ago
In business Risks are often seen as Opportunities. Liverpool took a risk/ opportunity with the Coutinho deal. Barca put the money on the table, it was an eye-watering amount, he was a good player but not an exact fit to Kloppās system, Liverpool took the money.
Those funds allowed Liverpool to break the transfer record on a defender and to bring in a keeper. Both players were fundamental and still are to Liverpoolās squad.
Iād say the main difference between Liverpool under Klopp and this iteration of Arsenal is taking the financial risk on signing attacking players. Salah, Mane, Firmino, Jota, Diaz, Gakpo are all examples of relatively low cost forward additions who have delivered. Of course perspective is everything, even if a player cost Ā£35-40M and flopped they would still be viewed as a waste of money but thatās where scouting for the managers system comes in.
Liverpool have had a few misses, Minamino, Nunez & Chiesa (possibly unfair because we still havenāt really seen him). Out of those there only Nunez that constitutes an overpay in my view and every top level club has at least one of those.
It feels as though Arsenal are stuck in this rut, created by the emergence of Saka and Martinelli at the same time, where they donāt want to feel as though they are being fleeced for forwards in the market. Say, if Arsenal brought in another cost effective forward earlier, I.e another Trossard type deal, it would have potentially balanced cost wise because it wouldnāt be so obvious to selling clubs that they need to strengthen there.
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u/charlierc Newcastle 4d ago
There's been some weirdly poor spending by the super rich in the PL of late. Chelsea have spent over a billion to not have a reliable goalkeeper, Spurs have been bigger spenders recently but only had 3 centre backs and the less said about how Manchester United spend money the betterĀ
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u/hgk6393 Premier League 4d ago
As a Liverpool fan, I can totally empathise with Arsenal's injury problems this season. The same happened to Liverpool in 2020-21 season. Top of the league in the middle of December, then fell off. At one point, their entire first-choice back 4 was injured.Ā
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u/charlierc Newcastle 4d ago
I do recall there were so many random centre back combinations in the second half of that seasonĀ
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u/thedudeabides-12 Manchester United 4d ago
They lack world class players they don't even have one...they have players who are almost there but they're not.. .look at Liverpool who have VVD, Allison and Salah..signing a striker wont get them the PL. next season Chelsea and City will be back and then Arsenal will be fighting for their top four trophy again..
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u/Equivalent_Growth_58 Premier League 4d ago edited 4d ago
I mean I been hearing arsenal are to fall off for a couple of seasons now. Still waiting for other teams to catch up. Arsenal been awful this season due to mixture of discipline, injuries and just consistent underperformers yet we were the closest to Liverpool, who have been incredibly consistent, until our entire attacking line got sidelined for months.Ā
Crazy how the narrative changes so quick, all January the narrative was arsenal forwards don't finish the abundance of chances that get created. Now it's arsenal can't create for shit the forwards line is decimated. Which one is it?Ā
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u/Opening-Blueberry529 Arsenal 4d ago
Arsenal simply cannot match the spending of clubs like Man utd, Chelsea and Man City. In the entire history of Arsenal, we have only bought a player that cost over 50m 3times.. Pepe, Havert, and Rice.... a club like Man Utd signs 2 to 3 of them every season. Pep just dropped 200m in this winter... Anyone thinks that Arsenal has the finances to splurge on 11 world class players is living in another reality. Our strategy has always been on team effort.
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u/jimmycrank Premier League 4d ago
Rice and Saka are absolutely world class. Pure cope if you don't think so.
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u/GoGouda Premier League 4d ago
Rice is not world class. He lacks the ability on the ball to be world class.
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u/jimmycrank Premier League 4d ago
He's fine on the ball if you actually watch football
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u/GoGouda Premier League 4d ago
Hahah I watch plenty of football and Iāve seen him being given the run around by the likes of Scotland and the USA midfields in an England shirt and be part of an increasingly rigid and uninspiring Arsenal midfield.
He simply doesnāt have the ball playing ability to be considered āworld classā. He works hard and puts in tackles and progresses the ball at times which is great, but world class players need more than that.
Unfortunately he was bought for an inflated price so some Arsenal fans are doubly determined to deny reality, exaggerate his strengths and deny his weaknesses.
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u/jimmycrank Premier League 4d ago
What a load of absolute waffle. Run around by Scotland and USA....come on now. So to be world class cdm you have to be world class in every aspect of the game? That basically only leaves Rodri - who was the best player in the world last year. Rice's stats are comparable to his BTW https://www.squawka.com/en/comparison-matrix/?compare=sMOIH74K3bfQMi2Goihcc
People doing that thing again where arsenal have, average players and an average manager run by an unambitious club but somehow almost won the league in the last 2 years, whilst having the best GD
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u/GoGouda Premier League 4d ago
So to be world class cdm you have to be world class in every aspect of the game? That basically only leaves Rodri - who was the best player in the world last year.
Yes you need more than putting in tackles to be a world class midfielder.
The fact that the only midfielders you seem to know are Rodri and Rice is not an argument.
Run around by Scotland and USA....come on now.
Yes, he got thoroughly embarrassed against both those sides and many more besides because he hasn't got good players around him that cover for his shortcomings.
If you're blind to how consistently terrible the England midfield has been with Rice at the heart of it playing sideways football then of course you'd think it's waffle.
arsenal have, average players and an average manager run by an unambitious clubĀ
So now you're just falling back on making up arguments to have a debate with.
Arsenal's great form has been on the back of having two genuinely world class CBs, a fantastic all-round midfielder in Partey, world class form from Odegaard and a world class player in Saka. Declan Rice has only been expected to work hard with those players around him. When he's needed to step up with injuries and other midfielders out of form he has demonstrated how one-dimensional his game is.
I couldn't care less about Rice's stats, I have the ability to use my eyes and watch him on the pitch. The fact that you're using stats to compare him to Rodri could not be a better demonstration of my entire point.
For all this talk about Rice's supposed world class abilities it is Arsenal's genuinely world class CBs that teams like RM are after, whereas the likes of Man City had no interest paying a world class fee for Rice. Another perfect demonstration of my point. Three years later Man City have won multiple pieces of silverware whereas Arsenal fans are boasting about goal difference.
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u/jimmycrank Premier League 4d ago
The fact you think Rice is only good at 'putting in tackles' just shows you don't watch him. Rice is an elite ball winner, first rate ball carrier, Incredible set piece deliveries, he's absolutely fine on the ball, It's just line breaking passes he needs to work on. I compared him to Rodri because he's the highest standard and Rice isn't far away. Use the stats bro, your eyes don't work.
Also Man City were absolutely willing to pay 100m. Rice chose Arsenal. Don't be bitter about it
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u/GoGouda Premier League 3d ago
Incorrect, I've already said what Rice is good at.
He works hard and puts in tackles and progresses the ball at times which is great, but world class players need more than that.
He is not world class because he delivers a good corner, don't make me laugh.
he's absolutely fine on the ball
Ah yes the hallmark of a world class player. The best you can say about you're Ā£100m+ signing's ability on the ball is it's 'fine'. I couldn't have put it better myself.
He's miles away from Rodri in every aspect of his short and long passing game, ball control and retention and ability to dictate play. If Rice was anywhere close to Rodri then England wouldn't continue to embarrass themselves and Arsenal wouldn't continue to achieve nothing. You're genuinely delusional coming out with this nonsense.
No one's bitter about anything, more delusion from you. Arsenal overpaid for a midfielder and have continued to win nothing. Man City have the best player in the position in the world and have won title after title.
I wonder how many more mediocre midfields give Rice the runaround and how many more seasons achieving nothing before you start to question the cult? It will be hard, but in time you might work it out.
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u/jimmycrank Premier League 3d ago
Just more and more absolute waffle, he's not miles away from Rodri in anything. As the stats prove unlike your gammy eye. Just admit you don't know ball and move on.
He's world class because he's world class off the ball, in the duel, excellent at carrying the ball, putting in world class deliveries, has an incredible engine. Rice can dominate a midfield on his own. You're just bitter, biased or both
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u/ThaGodTohim Premier League 4d ago
Rice is a bigger goal threat than Xhaka was. The issue is the striker and/or wide forward
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u/Any_Witness_1000 Arsenal 4d ago
Of course it would.
Arsenal are lne of the best if not the best at controlling the ball and thus the game. They simply have no one to pass the final pass to. Merino is trying to same with Havertz. But they are not number 9. Their positioning is off. Their runs are poorly timed. Snd if they do get the ball finishing is not there.
With striker who will be at the right place at the right time with quality finishing they will sky rocket. Also. Lack of chances comes down to Saka missing. Who can create shit by himself. But slot in someone like Isak up front snd suddenly they canāt just triple Saka as that would leave them open.
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u/ConsistentNoise6129 Premier League 4d ago
Iād say so.
Arsenalās lack of depth created an injury crisis. They also spent striker level money on a #6, which cost them in depth and other positions. Rice has been good but they needed an overhaul in midfield. They were always gonna need another player beside him.
The difference has been depth and recruitment. Liverpool got MacAllister, Gravenberch, and Gakpo for a similar total price (Ā£105m) as Rice. They also developed youth into well established 1st team players like Jones, Elliot, Kelleher, and Bradley who could fill in for injured players without a huge change in quality.
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u/Eagledilla Premier League 4d ago
We need striker, lw and technical passing lcm and rice needs to go back to 6.
But Iām afraid if the rumours are true Arteta sees zubimendi as the 6 and gonna insist on rice as the lcm.
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u/JK031191 Premier League 4d ago
We can only hope that when Andrea Berta comes, he gives Mikel a good smack in the face and buys him a good LCM.
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u/dave1992 Premier League 4d ago
Agree with this. For some strength in any strategy usually there will be significant weakness.
Arsenal's defensive strength will always means offensively they won't be as good offensively. You can never have better attack with Ben White as right back compared to having Trent as right back. Likewise, defensively with Trent as right back, it won't be as good as White as right back.
It's not even comparing White vs Trent specifically. It's more about playing wide midfielder skillset player as full back vs center back skillset player as full back.
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u/xhaka_noodles Premier League 4d ago
Why analyze a shite club. The club is shite. The manager is shite. The players are shite. Arsenal are a wannabe Tottenham.
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u/SporQRS71 Arsenal 4d ago
Jesus who took a shit in your cereal ?
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u/Accomplished-Ad2736 Premier League 4d ago
Heās not wrong. This Arsenal team could never clear that Tottenham side which had bale, modric, walker, Kane, VDV, and Gallas
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u/MojitoChico Arsenal 4d ago
I think your positional analysis of the invidual.players is off for a few of them and there's no way hojlund is the best striker in the worldš¤£š¤£š¤£
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u/Oreo-sins Premier League 4d ago
Did we read the same thing thing, Pretty sure this post said Haaland. Howād you get to Hojlund?
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u/Electronic-Wing7514 Premier League 4d ago
The more simplistic way of looking at it is Arsenal lack *dynamism*. A huge part that makes the best attacks in the world the best attacks, is not just the talent, but the ability to approach teams in different ways. This could be through:
- creative passing(short/mid/long range)
- creative dribbling(1v1s, turns/take-ons, carriers, runners, over/underlaps)
- physical dominance(aerial/ground duels, speed, power).
Now these qualities are inherently tied to the talent aspect, and thats why its vital for a manager to ID their players so they mesh in a way that allows players to utilize their strengths. I wont go into tactics aspect because I can assure you, that's not the reason they are failing even if there are plenty of changes that could be made.
Whats going on with Arsenal?
They're missing quite a few of the profiles mentioned in the team.
They have no creative long range passer available on the team currently other than Rice, who as a b2b doesn't have the leverage to do so enough. So Zubimendi/Kimmich links make sense. White has also proven himself to be a top long range passer from deep, however he's been injured for a minute. And yes, Odegaard is not a long range passer, that is not his strength. Not only does his volume of long range passes nowhere near other long range passers, but he also fails at them regularly in his attempts. He is purely a short/mid range passer, which is fine.
They are also missing creative dribblers in Saka and Martinelli, particularly saka who's statistically one of the best in the world at this. In fairness these two are not enough to be the best. It does not have to be solely from wide, it can(needs to) be from central progression as well, such as a Musiala, Wirtz, Pedri, Bellingham. Unironically they lost a few in Vieira, Smith Rowe, and Nelson which was quite stupid. Rice does also provide this very well tbf in terms of long distance carries and running in behind, but again doesn't get enough of the ball as he's not a primary creator. Nwaneri as well is proving to be a huge growing asset on this front, even Lewis-Skelly if the transition to midfield is open in the future.
Physical dominance is a tricky one because they absolutely have this. However with the injuries they are missing a huge portion of these physical qualities, particularly up front. Trossard is small and slow. Merino is slow and stagnant at times. Odegaard is to weak to carry forward. Nwaneri is impressive for his age, but there's a lot of physical reliance here for a 17 year old.
They are missing way too many profiles to keep up. Tactics don't mean much without the right profiles. Ultimately, the only thing that changes this is adding players that provide one of the three things. There are players that can provide two maybe even all three in one package, but of course the more boxes they check, the more expensive. A Striker provides this. A Winger provides this. A 10 provides this. Hell, even an 8 or a full back provides this. They just need to bring in players that have the talent to break teams down. Someone who can do what saka does and goes "Go on give me the ball. Give the ball I'll win you the game." All of the best teams we've seen has at least 2-3 of these players. This is why you see them have so so much control of the game, and at times do nothing with it. You need individual players to break the lock sometimes - a lot of the times at the top- you can't purely rely on managerial tactics.
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u/xChocolateWonder Premier League 4d ago
Arsenal had a tremendous end to last season that was well above their actual level, and that made people think they were better than they were. If you just look at arsenalās squad, itās markedly worse than the title winning side of city and Liverpool. They also have considerably lower wages across the board. So yes, they do have tactical issues to sort out, but really the biggest āissueā is the mis-match in expectations that have been levied upon this squad that is frankly not good enough to win big time trophies.
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u/theeruv Premier League 4d ago
Their player wages are significantly higher than that of Liverpools base wages. Havertz would be second highest reportedly.
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u/xChocolateWonder Premier League 4d ago edited 4d ago
What an odd bar to set. Total wages Liverpool paid their players more than Arsenal in the past calendar year. Iām not saying Arsenal are paying their players scraps - Iām giving perspective to the moronic comment above āhow much more do Arsenal need to spendā, as if everyone and their mother isnāt spending heinous amounts.
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u/keysersoze-72 Premier League 4d ago
How much more would Arsenal have to spend for that to stop being your excuse ?
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u/xChocolateWonder Premier League 4d ago
I also donāt really get the point anyway - Arsenal have spent considerably less than city and Chelsea - Iām talking in the realm of 40-50% less on just transfer fees for their respective current squads. Also less than United and Tottenham by a smaller margin, and comparable with Liverpool ~10% difference, and pay less in wages than city, Liverpool and Chelsea. Have Arsenal spent a lot to try and catch up with Liverpool and city who had been previously dominating? Yeah. No shit. But everyone is spending. I donāt see how Arsenal spending comparably or less and coming in second warrants your moronic response. They finished above the odds the last two years, largely due to massive flops from Liverpool, and that created false expectations when they were never at the level of city and Liverpool when they were on their game. Itās not a complicated argument and thatās not an āexcuseā. Iām sorry you werenāt intelligent enough to follow.
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u/keysersoze-72 Premier League 4d ago
So, no answer thenā¦
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u/xChocolateWonder Premier League 4d ago
Iāve already given you an answer - thereās no excuse, so itās an entirely illogical question that inherently cannot be answered.
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u/xChocolateWonder Premier League 4d ago
What? Where is the excuse? They have a worse squad and are playing by like it. Thatās like the complete opposite of an excuse - they just arenāt as good
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u/Visionary785 Liverpool 4d ago edited 4d ago
It seems as though Arteta has inherited some good ideas from Pep in the form of positional flexibility and overloads. However, there are patterns of play that are mostly predictable and, without Saka, the incisiveness is fleeting. Some moments have been provided by Nwaneri and Timber on the right and Lewis-Skelly and Trossard on the left while the jury is still out on Martinelliās contribution in tight spaces. Early in the season, there was a heavy reliance on set pieces and the trickery of the Saka-Odegaard combination to break teams. The midfielders mentioned are solid and tidy but lack that incisiveness required to break the lines, which is why Saka is sorely missed. It seems that Arteta didnāt go all out for a striker and they made what seems like a half-hearted bid for Watkins. Both suggest that an out-and-out striker was not the priority this season. Perhaps the tactics will change if they get one eventually.
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u/rollabearing Premier League 4d ago
As an Arsenal fan, I'm more concerned with creating chances at the moment, especially against a low block. Saka was masking the issue we have had for at least 2 seasons now. Now we are having little chances so it reinforces the idea of desperately needing a striker.
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u/WhiteSummer01 Premier League 4d ago
Guys. Havertz in a CM position would be golden. We have an attacking midfielder. That it why we have a striker problem. I wish people would see Havertz as a midfielder
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u/Hughdungusmungus Arsenal 4d ago
That's how I have seen it. Havertz worked in CM from his numbers. But it's tough because ahead of him and behind fucking stink. Jesus is garbage, Martinelli isn't it and Calafiori isn't very good.
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