Arsenal return to Premier League action this weekend, still reeling from that gut-wrenching night in Paris. Next up? A trip to Merseyside to face newly crowned champions Liverpool. Earlier in the campaign, this fixture was billed as a potential title decider. Fast forward a few months, and things couldn’t look more different.
Liverpool now sit 15 points clear of the Gunners, and the title race is long over. On paper, this looks like a dead rubber. But for Arsenal, who are clinging to a Champions League spot, there’s still everything to play for.
Reports suggest Arsenal will give Liverpool a guard of honour – a gesture that would’ve been ours to receive if not for one damning pattern: too many draws. It’s been the defining frustration of our campaign.
Of the 36 games played so far, Arsenal have drawn 13 – that’s over a third of our matches (36%). Only Everton (with 15) have more, while Brighton are level on 13. It’s a staggering number, especially considering we’ve lost just four matches all season – fewer than both Manchester City and Newcastle. Yet somehow, they may still finish above us.
The reason? Draws kill momentum – and league positions.
In my view, these dropped points reflect one glaring issue: a lack of an X-factor up front. A killer No.9. A match-winner. Out of those 13 draws, nine ended either 1–1 or 0–0. In several of those games, we took the lead but failed to seal it. In others, we trailed but couldn’t claw our way back. Time and time again, we lacked that decisive spark in the final third.
Even when Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz were fit, we didn’t have that instinctive finisher. Sure, we’ve come up with clutch moments here and there, but not with the frequency required to challenge the very best.
A proven striker would’ve changed the story of our season. Turning just a few of those draws into wins could have kept us in the title conversation. Instead, we’re left counting the cost, again.
This summer will be massive. Arsenal can’t afford another transfer window without addressing the need for a natural goalscorer. If the club get it wrong again, 2025–26 could be another long, painful campaign.
Over to you, Gooners – how costly have these draws been?
BENJAMIN KENNETH
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Sorry to go off topic but why show that utterly embarrassing tefo above the article, it was just another thing that has made us a laughing stock, as if we needed more!
More embarrassment, should have said tifo 🤣
Yeah, I think the need for a real top 9, striker is very clearer now.
Crucially, the manager should not have been comfortable all along, not just because of desperation. A fit and consistent striker would have helped in this run in, as a scoring threat and as confusion and puzzle to defenders, giving his mates scoring opportunities.
The lack of X factor is something that became apparent in our tie against Bayern last season. Even Arteta has emphasized the need for x factor in the past.
We definitely need signings that can provide x factor. I also believe we already have a player in Saka who can provide x factor. The manager just needs to free him a bit, reduce his defensive workload perhaps, so he can focus on attack. It’s difficult to work as hard as our attackers do and still have the legs and mind to execute in attack.
We’ll need to find a balance. Reduce the need to control the ball, reduce Saka’s workload and allow the players to express themselves more in the final third.We’ll probably concede more goals, but it’ll be a worthy trade off in my opinion. Call me crazy but I believe Saka can easily score 20+ goals and 10+ assists if he didn’t have to do the ‘dirty work’.