Do Arsenal still have one missing link?

Arsenal still don’t have what it takes to win the EPL?

After eight EPL games played, you cannot argue that even after a slow start to the Premier League campaign for the Gunners, things have truly began to pick up and the club is now in a strong position to have a consistent run of form at the top of the league.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has in my opinion the strongest squad available to him since the last dominant era of the early 2000’s. It is a squad that hasn’t had a load of stars mixed together on big money, but instead he has a team with full of passion, good spirit and a willingness to be competitive as a team rather than as individual stars. There are finally some big names amongst the squad again after many years of struggle and these are the types of players who will return the club to its former glory. But according to some critics, Arsenal are still one piece away from completing the perfect puzzle.

Ex Gunner Emmanuel Petit, a much loved figure at Arsenal under the Arsene Wenger reign, still has his say on many of the club’s various affairs. This week he’s been speaking about Arsenal’s potential title challenge, now that the Gunners are at the top of the league level on points with Manchester City. In the past Petit has shown his confidence in this Arsenal team and especially for Arsene Wenger, but if there’s one thing that the Frenchman still isn’t happy about, then it’s Arsenal’s lack of an out and out striker.

Petit said in a recent statement: “Even though I love Arsenal and Arsene, I try to stay objective. They never quite satisfy me, and they often frustrate me. As long as Arsenal don’t have a striker who scores 40 goals a season like Aguero does at Manchester City. That’s what you need in any league: a striker who is one of the best in the world.”

It may be a big ask for Arsene Wenger to find a player of Aguero’s capabilities in the current state of the transfer market, but Petit makes a point that simply will not go away. Fans have been calling for a truly world class goal scorer for the last 5 years at least, but as of yet we have not been in any luck.

The Gunners may have recently discovered Alexis Sanchez’s capabilities of playing as a striker in front of goal, but let’s be honest at the end of the day he is a converted winger and if Arsenal truly want to become dominant across not just England but in Europe too, then the club needs to invest in a major frontman who will get them more than 20 goals a season in all competitions.

Personally I don’t feel we are far away from having a team that is, in technical ability, ready to compete on all fronts, but Petit makes a very good point about the current striker situation at Arsenal and it’s a topic of discussion that will not go away until we are satisfied.

By AH

8 Comments

  1. let’s be honest some of the best strikers in world football are converted wingers, from Henry, Messi, RVP,Diego Costa down to the Harry Kane, Vardy.
    some others spent some part of their developing years as wingers eg Lukaku,Cavani,Zlatan,Drogba

    the others were in fact playing behind the mainstriker as a SS eg Aguero,Suarez,RVP, it’s only few that are actually 100% strikers like Lewandowski,van Nistelrooy, Inzaghi etc

    plus Alexis naturally is a SS from his Udinese days n in Chile, Pep was the one who utilized him on the Rightwing and then Wenger saw he could be better utilized on the Leftwing.
    .
    Alexis is our 30 or 40goal striker… the more games and goals he scores up front the more lethal he becomes n by the time he is fully adapted, the so called ‘real strikers’ won’t measure up.. go study how Brendan Rodgers converted Suarez to a 9 n half.

  2. The statement doesn’t bother me, why because they make arsenal fans quizzical and impatient over what they have.
    All these ex-players turn pundits all feel they have something to say about arsenal.
    Now let’s be candid and sincere, is it all teams that have a focal point striker that scores above twenty league goals that wins you the league or is it no longer team work that wins you the league? Arsenal is doing something right and we all know. Converting sanchez to a striker to me is genius, because that is paying off somehow if you look closely.
    We have option A,B,C here is why,in Alexis we have a skillful and roaming forward who has pace you can tell by his game,
    We have also giroud a target man that you can put in crosses for be sure he will knock most in and we have Perez who to me is fast and also a poacher. Just give him time, need I say more talk about our midfield and defense guys please relax a bit and watch things pan out nicely while the so called pundits eat humble Arsenal piem

  3. 1. Even Aguero hasn’t scored 40 goals. The max he can get is 30 if he can stay healthy (which he won’t be able to).

    2. We are playing as a team in our attack and defense. Walcott has 5 goals, Alexis has 4 goals, Ozil has 3 goals, Iwobi also looks like a goal threat. Even Cazorla and Koscielny has 2 goals each. What’s the problem?

  4. For now I don’t think there’s any missing link our team is playing well, our forwards scoring, our defense keeping clean sheets(even though not in all the matches we have played) and our midfield organised. Let them give Wenger and Arsenal credit when they are doing well ?

  5. if you,ve been following petit since he retired you wouldn,t take much notice of what he says ,the guy needs to come off the whacky baccy:)

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