Martinelli Chelsea

Arsenal had a better performance against Chelsea but we still need a clinical striker

Many of us Gooners currently share the sentiment that our attacking lineup is lacking in quality. It’s difficult to believe that a clinical Arsenal wouldn’t have emerged victorious in that match against Chelsea.

Arsenal and Chelsea played out to a 1-1 draw.

Arsenal wasted three big chances against Chelsea, managing to score just one goal, while the Blues capitalised on their only big chance to find the back of the net. Some teams need only one opportunity to punish you, yet we squander chance after chance.

If you’re not clinical at this level, you risk becoming susceptible to consistently losing points, as has been evident in the past few weeks. Arsenal has not secured a victory in their last four league matches, and a common theme during this disappointing stretch has been concerns regarding their creativity in the final third and the absence of a clinical #9.

It’s likely that Arsenal’s defence experiences frustration with the attack at times, as it often feels like a clean sheet is the easiest way for securing three points. We understand that being overly defensive isn’t always the solution, and relying solely on set pieces to secure victories isn’t sustainable; we need our attack to finally come together.

Making the right moves in the transfer window in 2025 will be crucial to elevating this Arsenal attack to the next level. The new Arsenal Sporting Director must do magic in the transfer market… I don’t believe we can hold Arteta responsible for our lack of top attacking options.

It is well known that he made attempts to secure high-calibre forwards such as Dusan Vlahovic, Victor Osimhen, Raphinha, Pedro Neto, Alexander Isak, Ivan Toney, Viktor Gyokeres, and Nico Williams. However, the club’s ambition fell short in making these deals a priority.

Viktor Gyokeres
LISBON, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 05: Manuel Akanji of Manchester City and Viktor Gyokeres of Sporting CP compete for the ball during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD4 match between Sporting Clube de Portugal and Manchester City at Estadio Jose Alvalade on November 05, 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Gyökeres clebrating against Man City
LISBON, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 5: Viktor Gyokeres of Sporting CP celebrates after scoring a goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD4 match between Sporting CP and Manchester City at Estadio Jose Alvalade (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)

To win the affection of fans, Edu’s successor must ensure that Arteta gets the necessary attackers for his Arsenal project to achieve its highest potential.

Daniel O


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9 Comments

  1. No, remember about Aubameyang who was a world-class striker, yet he couldn’t fit into Arteta’s latest tactics

    We need Giroud 2.0 with a lot of stamina to burn in high-press and Vlahovic/ Zirkzee could be the answer

    1. @Gai you are over confident of Vlahovic, Giroud/Zirkee I followed this players games closely and I can tell you Giroud isn’t same player of few seasons ago. He wasn’t even listed for France first 11 in Euros Competition not dominant like before and ageing gradually. Arsenal won’t return for Vlahovic after previous attempts. And Zirkee hasn’t inspire confidence playing so far in Epl for ManU he seem overated.
      Arteta a former PePG protege should take a clue from his mentor CF (Halaand) skillful, dominant and prolific. That’s what we need. Sesko, Osimehin and Gyokeres fit this standard. Imo. Yes they could be expensive, the question is will Arsenal only spend on costly midfielders and not CF after Auba? Imo it makes no sense

      1. Sylva, it’s almost embarrassing to point out GIA is not talking about bringing back 37 year old Giroud of today, but a modern day version of Giroud, hence Giroud 2.0

        to offer Halaand as your evidence is like saying Arsenal should have got Messi, one-of-a-kind greatest players on the planet, not available on every street corner

        Sesko may well fit well but publicly stated he was not moving, that is facts not Arsenal failure, likewise Gyokeres stayed put

        Osimhen on loan at Galatasray speaks for itself

        finally “CF after Auba”, seriously, another Auba is exactly the opposite to Arsenal (just ask Man U fans facing 5 years of unwinding overpaid underperforming dross)

  2. For the reasons known only to the club, the failure to sign a striker in the summer will possibly be one of the reasons we will not meet the expectations of the supporters. If there was not a striker which Arteta thought would suit his plans why would there be one in January. If it was because he did not have sufficient funds thats another matter. However,as it seems to be generally accepted, to buy players in the January window is not easy. Firstly clubs are not inclined to sell their players and if they do the cost is usually very high. So once again if any of the strikers that many would like to see at the club become available then its not going to happen because of the stupid prices the selling clubs will ask. I sincerly doubt we will buy a striker in January.

  3. “It is well known that he [Arteta] made attempts to secure high-calibre forwards such as Dusan Vlahovic, Victor Osimhen, Raphinha, Pedro Neto, Alexander Isak, Ivan Toney, Viktor Gyokeres, and Nico Williams.” I don’t think it is well known, is it? There were many reports in the media that those strikers were possibly available – and some were linked to Arsenal and other clubs as well. However, there were very few indications of “firm” Arsenal interest in any of them as I recall. Arsenal’s main (only?) efforts in the last transfer window appeared to be around Calafiore and Merino who seemed to take the club almost the whole ten weeks to sign.

    The problem now is that it’s pretty unlikely that Arsenal will get one in January. Sporting, for example, aren’t going to sell Gyokeres in mid-season and the same goes for most, if not all, the other clubs. Any who may be contemplating a possible sale will be fully aware of Arsenal’s need and ensure the fee is adjusted accordingly.

    So, barring any surprise signing, Arsenal will need to go with what they have all the way through to the end of May. Will that be enough? Who knows? But we’re all going to find out one way or another.

  4. They could have signed Ivan Toney but stupidly let him go to Saudi Arabia. Big mistake shows that Arteta should be replaced

  5. striker is the simplistic response always it seems, there is more to the game of football

    Man C have the worlds best striker and Man C have just lost 4 games in row

    and Haaland is the only consistently clinical prolific striker in the PL

    even Haaland has lean spells

    current PL leaders Liverpool have a mere 3 more goals than Arsenal, but half as many goals conceded, think about it…on JA unlikely!0

    if Arsenal lived up to our cast iron defence of last season we would conceded 4 less goals, and if to Liverpool standard conceded 6 less goals

    if Arsenal conceded 6 less goals, which Arsenal is capable of, how many more points would we have?
    between 3 and 6 conservatively

    the Arsenal PL points tally and Arsenal mood be very different, i.e. 2 to 4 points behind the leaders (and likely in front of Man C)00

    but no, it is not facts of our defensive regression that simple minds can compute, it is the predictable ‘striker, striker, striker’, every club has them, even Arsenal!

    Arsenal do appear to have been in for a striker in the summer, e.g. Sesko who (like Zudimendi) publically stated he was staying where he was, it seems Gyokeres also decided to stay put as half the clubs in PL and around Europe are in need of a clinical striker

    Isak was clearly not for sale and neither pushing for a move

    then the consistently prolific clinical striker market starts to look a bit bare

    Zirkzee was a name in the frame, and moved to Man U in a big money deal, and well, umm…where are the goals?

    Osimhen, with such a sellers market had precisely ‘no bids’0 and ended up at Galatasaray on loan, hmm, that says a lot, clearly no big club fancied him even on loan

    so easy to say Arsenal “failed” to sign a clinical prolific striker, no other team secured a goal machine either, some with deeper pockets than ours

    the bigger truth that ‘striker, striker, striker’ are incapable of is Arsenal strong defensive foundation has regressed badly and clearly Odegaard absence has exposed lack of creativity in the squad – ‘striker, striker, striker’ solves neither before we even get to needless red cards

    Fantasy Football is just that, too many “fail” to connect with reality

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