Mikel Arteta is claimed to have requested ‘seven new signings’ at Arsenal this summer, and Emmanuel Petit claims that he is ‘completely’ behind the request.
The Gunners have struggled for form since the international break, possibly due to the painful loss of key pair Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney, and you could argue that their lack of squad strength has been their undoing of late.
While you could argue that the signings of Nuno Tavares and Albert Sambi Lokonga last summer could be doing better, with the pair the obvious choice to step-up in the absence of the injured duo, the two have played very little football in 2022 thus far, and the manager is now claiming that he wants as many as seven new additions after the recent loss to Crystal Palace.
Petit is fully behind the manager’s claims, claiming that he has done ‘a lot of good’ already in north London, claiming that he just doesn’t have the squad to deal with the clubs at the top of the table yet.
“Since Mikel Arteta arrived at Arsenal, he’s been steady”, The Mirror quoted Petit as saying. “He still has a lot to do, but he has done a lot of good things already. He has found his first XI and now the players appear to be a happy group.
“They seem to understand the way Arteta is asking them to play, but after the Crystal Palace game I believe he said he wants seven new signings for next season, and I completely agree with him. Arsenal are doing everything they are capable of at the moment. With this team Arteta has some quality, but not enough to compete with Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea. But he cannot perform miracles either.”
While I think that Arteta’s backing may depend somewhat on where his side finish up in the table, and while seven signings may seem a little on the excessive side, it really isn’t. Delving into it, at present it would be no shock to see two strikers, a central midfielder, and two full-backs added to the squad, while a new goalkeeper has already been signed which will likely be the end of Bernd Leno’s stay at the Emirates. That is six straight away, while William Saliba’s likely return would be like a new signing also.
Is seven signings too many? Or is that exactly what is needed should we qualify for Europe?
Patrick