Arsenal’s priority is a left back and not a striker?
It’s being reported that Arsenal have turned their priorities from striker to left back in the January transfer window and although I think we should be trying to invest into the attack, left back has been somewhat of an issue this season. With FFP following clubs closely, Arsenal will be trying to find a solution that suits everyone.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has started the season at Left Back, being Arteta’s number one starting choice for left back for a while, playing an inverted full back role, he looked to pick up where he left off last season and looked to be in great form. But as the season has progressed, he’s started to be a bit more inconsistent and hasn’t looked at is best for a while and appears to be the main target for opposing strikers.
Takehiro Tomiyasu didn’t start the season off getting a lot of minutes but as Zinchenko’s performances started to decline, Arteta looked to Tomiyasu to step up and that’s exactly what he did. Playing the inverted full-back role also, but brought a bit more to the role than Zinchenko had, making his way into the midfield a lot. He was more of an attacking threat going forward and before he picked up an injury, was in great form, getting assists and helping the squad push forward and looked dangerous on the counter.
But both Zinchenko and Tomiyasu have had injury issues this season that has seen them miss out on a lot of important football, and although we do have Jakub Kiwior to possibly step in if necessary, making a left back a priority does make a lot of sense to me.
Kiwior is a good defender but hasn’t looked to be a starter for Arteta and I don’t really see that changing, and maybe if the left-back role wasn’t so up in the air, he would probably be gone by now, so as much as you can rely on him to step in, I don’t think he’s ideally what Arteta wants.
Due to FFP, it’s reported that we won’t be spending big in the January window and will be looking for loan options instead, which I don’t think is a bad idea at all. Wait until the summer to make any big decisions with defence or midfield and hopefully bring in someone good enough to fill the left-back shoes, and hopefully help push this Arsenal squad to silverware in the second half of the season.
It shouldn’t be too hard to find a player willing to come on loan but because it’s January, the options will always be somewhat slim and finding a good enough player who is willing to be loaned out in January is hard, but considering how well we could do this season, it’s an attractive project to join.
No real solid names have been thrown about yet so only time will tell.
What’s your thoughts Gooners? Should LB be our priority?
Daisy Mae
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That’s what I just said in the article about Tierney – why we ever let him go, no matter what style MA wants to play, is another mistake he made.
At some stage, MA has got to start trusting the players he bought and Kiwior has to be given an extended run – otherwise, what on earth was the point of buying him?!
Agree Ken, I do not trust Arteta. He hired Tavares, Zinny and let go Tierney. He hired Gab J as a CF, retained Eddie and let go Flo. 4 goals + 4 assists in 14 games.. Gab J 3 goals +1 assist in 15 games.
Trust Arteta to make a mistake again in hiring (one of his favorites’) and then we are full circle 360 degrees. Nowhere wining trophies, discard players, rip up contracts, devalue player transfer fees – not his money, does he care? No emotions, I want him gone as soon as possible.
Not only left back and up front where the problems are, the midfield doesn’t score enough goals to help out the forwards, I’d like to see another addition in that department cause apart from Rice I don’t think the other options are gonna do much for us long term, we’ll probably be good enough to finish in the top 4 but no serious threat for the title or champions league.
No, because Tomiyasu is fit and Timber might fully recover next month. Kiwior hasn’t got enough time in the LB position as well
Zinchenko’s defending abilities are inconsistent, but our inverted-LB wasn’t the main reason why we lost our last two EPL games
A new CF should be the priority, because we’ve only got two diminutive CFs with similar physical capabilities
For GAI
Happy New Year to you.
I don’t get your argument for a physical striker all the time. After all Man City won the league before last season without a physical striker and so did Liverpool. It can be done and has been done on many occasions.
If you say a clinical or lethal striker (I agree with you).
The difference is the coaches that those 2 teams had and they had the ability to make tactical tweaks. Even Leicester won it with a comparatively diminutive striker (Vardy).
Happy New Year too
The CF requirements to win EPL aren’t the same each season, because the tactics of the teams always change
Man City have a big CF now and Liverpool signed two strong ones to fix their problems
Leicester City focused on counter-attack and deliberately lost the ball possesssion to hit their opponents on the break, when they won EPL with Ranieri. That counter-attacking style required a pacey striker like Vardy
You could watch how Richarlison played with his back to goal, to create Spuds’ second goal against Bournemouth. We have no one that can play like that consistently
@gai, I kind of agree with you. Many pundits including Arsenal legends commenting on Sky sports and different plartform have suggested the need for a new physical and prolific CF for Arsenal. They can’t all be wrong. I have seen us missed several chances due to our strikers either been bullied by opposition defenders or simply not clinical enough. We also lost lots of corner kicks in some games due to the inability of our dimunitive front men to score with headers. Matinelli, Saka and Jesus all are not tall forwards
We really need a striker. Foot ball in Epl evolves every season and a coach must know what is required to win or lift a trophy.
I will agree to disagree with you on this one regardless of what the so called pundits say.
I just think one dimensional tactics are the problem along with a lack of rotation.
I think we need to change to a 3-5-2 with Saka and Martinelli being the 2 and Jesus and Odegaard being in the 5 to make late runs to confuse the defenders.
Although a towering CF can be a plan B in the case of our club.
Richarlison, really
a template for success???
Liverpool spent £89m on Nunez, 5 goals in 19 EPL games this season, only 9 in whole of last season
Vlahović 6 goals this season, 10 last season
Holjund £72m, 1 goal
even Eddie has 5
prolific they are not
this is the big problem with Arsenal spending our entire budget and then some on one player
it guarantees nothing, and may even weaken us as no funds left for DM to help out lone man Rice, or cover for Saliba/Gabriel
Bad advise. Defenders don’t win matches, they defend so teams are not scored, because goals by strikers win matches. Coaches are always blamed for setting up their teams to defend. The supreme purpose of honouring any match is to go in and fight for a win. How then, is Arsenal going to win any matches without a striker. This view totally defies logic.
You clearly have never played the game at a reasonable level as you would know that within the dressing room every player is of equal importance when it comes to being successful.The success of the invincibles was based on a solid defence first and foremost.
For me no,I think our problem has been a defensive midfielder and a striker.The ones who will just come and be in the first 11.In left back Tomyasu is back and Timber is soon returning so we don’t have to worry too much
We need to recall Tierney and look for a burly confident striker as well as back up options for left wing to bench Martinelli and Rb sub we are good to go.
Just read an interview article today where Tierney has said ” “Several people have already asked me if I was going to return to Arsenal now and the answer is no. I’m going to stay here for sure.” He doesn’t want to to be back at Arsenal and who can blame him thinking that way. He is going to be be playing the next round of Champions league football at Real, not sitting on Arsenal’s bench.
Yup. Stop agonising about “ inverting” and just play him as a solid left back. Now that may be a surprise to the opponents. He can put in crosses to Havertz at the front and play Jesus on the left to mix it up with Martinelli. Put ESR in at left 8 and stick with it . Arteta needs to stop being too cute, too inflexible and too stubborn.
That’s it mate!! I don’t get this inverted and outverted complicated and confused formation. Back to basics.💯 %
Daisy Mae, we need a striker. Do we want to win the EPL? If so we won’t do it with our present forward line. Both Saka and Martinelli are being doubled up by defenses. If we don’t get someone who’s trade is putting the ball in the net our season is over. Left back is a problem, striker is a BIG problem. Dominating possession wins nothing if we cannot put the ball in the net. Vlahovic or Toney or someone else (not Mr ordinary ..Solanki) but we must solve that problem in this window.
Just to let you know there is something wrong with the site. It’s hit and miss if it accepts a post.
A full back who can play from both flanks would be my preference. One in the mould of Tomiyasu. Then we could get rid of Cedric even if it means for free.
Last season we lost it because of a void in the defense. Let it now happen again
Not for me. Imo our ability to control and hurt teams in attack is the real problem – it’s one of the reasons we look less stable in defence. Centre midfield is our main area of weakness – beyond rice and an injured partey, we don’t really have one of note. If rice gets a knock, we will be completely screwed, so that should be the priority.
Next we definitely could do with a striker, but i think we’d get better results with our current forward options if we were stronger in midfield (better passers) and perhaps simply rotated the squad a bit longer.
Some of the articles have hinted that maybe saka and jesus are carrying knocks, which wouldn’t surprise me at all and would explain why they’ve been so far below what we know they’re capable of – if that’s the case it’s even more baffling why they’re playing every game
Where are we going to get an inverted bargain LB from?
Why not switch to a 3-5-2 instead?
Nketiah Jesus
Martinelli Odegaard Jorginho Rice Saka
Gabriel Saliba White
Raya
For Twig
I agree with the 3-5-2 and have been saying this for a while. However, my personnel for formation is slightly different.
2: Martinelli/Havertz, Saka/Nketiah
5: Zinchenko/Sousa, Jesus/ESR, Rice/ Partey Odegaard/Trossard, White/Norton-Cuffy (needs to be recalled from loan)
3: Gabriel, Saliba, Kiwior/Tomiyasu
Ramsdale/Raya
As you can see there are 2 options for each spot with the exception of the centre backs with spots also going to the academy prospects. You have to be creative if they get injured.
My suggestion is to replace Havertz with a solid left sided DM.
This would mitigate the need for a new Left Back, and might help Martinelli too.
I know I am in the minority on this site but, even though he is right footed, Zubimendi might be our best bet.
Like y’all I have read he wants to stay at Sociedad, but he has a buy-out clause. So with a really good salary offer, he might just come.
Of course, this will never happen, because Arteta Just couldn’t drop Havertz, his $67m purchase.
By investing a potential £135m on Havertz (transfer fee + 5 years salary) MA probably agrees with your sentiment. Eye watering isn’t it??
Personally I don’t think he is interested in a big No.9 at the present moment.
Hello! Happy New Year fellow Gooners.
I must say that the main issue now is
MA ‘s coaching.
The lack of rotation in his team weakens the whole group. Why? Because you can’t ask benchers to perform at the highest level if you haven’t given them your trust, on multiple occasions. The trial of having ESR be the super sub against the Hammers is the best example. Although, ESR, Nelson would be great team players if given way more game time. It would produce twists in our games. But the way MA is using them is not the way to give Arsenal a team of 15 or 16 good and confident players.
I am actually quite mad at this poor judgment of Arteta, and feeling sorry for him not seeing clear to this. A HEALTHY rotation of a team in order to perform and surprise opposing teams is what we need now.
But there is more to that. In terms of efficiency, I see Ramsdale being a better stopper at impossible shots.
So Raya, for his great passes doesn’t bring extra better performing stats to the team. A calmness in defense is welcomed, but the impulse of Ramsdale’s character gives the energy of a lion to a team that needs it, so I don’t like our goalie situation today and it made Rams becomes less & less confident.
In defense, we were never going to be ok without Tierney. He’s not coming back that’s over, but what a solid display he could do for us. More he would let Martinelli cut inside more freely and cover well. Plus his forward runs and mentality were a force in our panel of strengths.
Zinch should play in Havertz position, he would be deadly to oppositions. How can we let go Xhaka and replace him by Kaï?!? By losing Xhaka, we let a positive and willing attitude we lack today. No offense to Rice, but Xhaka was the big guy in our young team. And he brought a healthy balance in between ages, skills & experiences.
On that, I would say MA is young, naive and maybe too much of himself.
Exactly like last year, when White should have had taken the spot of Saliba when he got injured. We would maybe have won the games we needed to be champions.
I don’t usually like to talkl like that, but that’s how I see this whole situation.
And at that time MA made excuses to explain he couldn’t cope without certain players. The premier league is difficult, no one argues that. But a coach swallow his pride and find solutions. This year, the same feeling doesn’t come in April but in December.
MA has a great grand strategy for Arsenal, but it seems he can’t work on a plan B and C … which is needed when opposing teams figured out how to shackle our system.
ESR should replace Odegaard for some games, re-invigorate players by giving time to some and benching the Sakas and Martinellis.
Kaï should be our main Striker and Jesus starts on the left or right wings. Same for Nelson.
In terms of additions, a striker that brings threats pace and skills would be amazing, but as I said, the main issue remains with how Arsenal is coached with a great grand strategy, but no twists in it, no vision of how we cope when the strategy doesn’t work.
When one chases too much perfectionism he lacks excellency.
To stand any chance of winning prem league Arsenal have to sign a left back and a forward plus a top quality midfielder to partner Rice failure to do that then it will end in another trophy less season and then imagine Arteta job will be on the line!