Backup for Saka? by Ben
I read an article earlier today, which surprisingly made sense, considering the source was Rio Ferdinand. In the article he claimed Arsenal still need to sign another top-class forward. His reasoning was that Bukayo Saka has not missed a single league game in 2 seasons.
That heavy workload began to show on him in the final weeks of the season, lending credibility to Rio’s statement. However, it is my assertion that Arsenal do not need another forward, Arteta just needs to learn how to use what he has better.
Squad rotation is no longer something to be sneered at. I remember when Claudio Ranieri was mockingly called the ‘Tinker Man’ during his time at Chelsea, due to his penchant for rotating his side. Oh how we laughed.
Fast-forward 20 years, and now failing to properly use your squad can you get you into all sorts of trouble. Of course, it must be said that you can’t rotate what you don’t have, but to compete at the top in 2023 you need 25 players who can all play without a noticable drop in quality.
Rio was right, but also wrong. Arsenal have all the players they need in my opinion. Mikel just needs to use them better. For example, when Saka needs rotating our of the side for a few games, he could play Trossard there, or ESR, or my choice Gabriel Jesus.
He played that position to great effect at City and would be my first choice to play RW when Saka is fatigued. It then opens up our options up front and would allow Balogun or Eddie some more game time.
This is an area of the game where Pep is light years ahead of Arteta. But if he can get it right, we could see exciting times in the future for Arsenal football club.
Ben Dungate