Some suggest that without corners (set pieces), Arsenal would have been a lot worse off in the EPL table because they struggle to create and convert chances in open play.
At the moment, almost everyone is convinced that the Gunners need to splash some cash on a top striker in the winter transfer window if they’re to save their league campaign.
That said, don’t you think it is unfair to peddle around the “Arteta should’ve bought a striker” narrative? Remember how many times the board (or the Kroenkes) has let him down during their pursuit of strikers – he even put himself in danger defending them in press conferences saying they are unconditionally backing him every step of the way.
In his time as the Arsenal boss, the Spaniard has been linked with moves for Ivan Toney, Dusan Vlahovic, Alexander Isak, Benjamin Sesko, and so many more!
However, the club has never been able to convince his ideal striker target to join them.
Last January we thought we wanted Ivan Toney and Pedro Neto (who would have been a massive left wing upgrade), but the club’s decision-makers weren’t ready to splash cash for that double swoop.
The 2023-24 title race exposed our attack as a weakness. So we wanted a striker and a dynamic winger. But we couldn’t splash cash to get either of those on board.
Arsenal had the opportunity to acquire Viktor Gyokeres and also defeat Chelsea in the pursuit of Neto last summer, but they chose not to. Similar to how we lost out on Mudryk, we also missed out on Neto because, unlike the Blues, we lacked the ambition to make a significant investment in a deal that we desperately needed, but was that Arteta’s decision or was he simply thwarted by the money men?
There’s no way you’re telling me Mikel Arteta has never had ambitions of signing a top striker. If he truly has never pushed to sign any of the strikers highlighted above, then he isn’t the right man for us, in my opinion.
Peter Rix
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I thought it was also about ffp/psr. Isn’t that why we sold Nketiah & ESR?
Or maybe the quality strikers, the ones we actually want, like Sesko turned us down because we aren’t winning things yet. If Arteta wins that elusive first league or European trophy then maybe we’d be more appealing?
Dougal, I think that’s about as close to the truth as we will get before the unlikely event of an official club statement on the subject.
The problem is not lack of a striker. The problem is lack of shooting on goal.
Problem is the ownership
Would not blame the owners, if they sanctioned 65M for Kai + 35M for Fabio, why did not Mikel hire a decent CF for the the same amount or less? Could not they spot talent other that Sesko / Goykores? Chris Wood and Brian Mbuemo have 10 goals each, while Kai has 5. Seen the return on investment? Owners had no issue to sanction 105M for Rice. Blaming the owners is not correct when they are not part of the scouting mission or involved in the day-day running of the club. The fingers point to Mikel and his team of management.
Trying to make it seem like it’s the board’s fault we don’t have a striker is so wrong. I don’t think in the history of the modern game there has been a manager more backed than Arteta. Our striker problem didn’t start today. It started since Aubameyang’s decline and got fully pronounced when Arteta decided to sideline him without adequate replacement.
Since then we’ve spent millions and millions of pounds on different areas of the pitch. Arteta has been fully backed by the board over enough time to get a quality striker. You can’t tell me you bought a Jesus to replace an Aubameyang, what a joke and a failed experiment. Harvertz was bought initially as a midfielder. Even last summer the money spent of purchasing certain unnecessary players should have gone towards getting a world class striker. So yes it is Arteta’s fault we’re in this mess.
SPOT ON! The money wasted on Havertz – 65 million plus 14 million a year – ought to have been spent on a striker. Havertz is not a LCM (not a replacement for Xhaka!), not a striker, not a winger..What is he? Yet, in Arteta’s non-negotiables, Havertz must be in starting 11!! Arteta is the problem.
@Jack
Time has a way of revealing things. When some of us point to Arteta as the problem others point to him as the second coming. But in due time we shall see who is right and who is wrong
Arteta is not the problem, it is the “coming second” LOL.
👍I see what you did there. Thanks for the chuckle and then the mixed emotions setting in.🤦♂️
Chapo, as far as I’m aware, Jesus was the intended Abameyang replacement (it may have had something to do with scoring four goals in a City game late in his final season there). He did have a decent period with us, but since the international caused injury he seems to have completely lost it.
you are right Jax, Jesus joined Arsenal in July 2022, with #9 on his back and many statements stating he was be our #9 striker
and Jesus had immediate impact in that first 2022/23 season transforming Arsenal from 5th to PL leaders at xmas, Arsenal qualifying for the CL for first time in 6 years
Arsenal also had Nketiah as back-up striker, and in that 2022/23 stepped up on a number of occassions, e.g. West Ham double
we also forget fast that Arsenal finished the 2023/24 season on fire scoring goals from everywhere for fun, on the face of it how Arsenal finished 2023/24 season did not shout a goal scoring problem
now since his knee injury Jesus has not regained that level, and I agree his goal scoring is nowhere near good enough now, even as a back-up
and Nketiah went to Palace this summer, which I agree was the right move
Arsenal have games where we score plenty of goals, e.g. Monaco, West Ham, Sporting, but also games were we don’t score enough, e.g. Everton, Fulham
both the Everton game and Fulham we created nearly nothing in terms of big chances, very little creativity even with Odegaard back, no way through the teams intent on defending from the first whistle
Arteta/Arsenal do need to find a solution to the creativity element first, need to make more chances in order to take more chances – a new striker alone does not solve that, strikers hardly ever create goals out of nothing, strikers need service and too often any striker will find themselves with none at Arsenal at the moment
particularly our left-side midfield and wing have produced nearly nothing all season, Rice/Merino not scoring or creating, and Martinelli/Trossard likewise
almost entirely dependent on our right hand side makes Arsenal too easy to double team defend against and overly reliant on Odegaard who when has an off day (which happens to even the best) then Arsenal seem to offer nothing
We don’t have a creativity problem, we have a tactics problem. It’s on the coach’s instruction that the team play that way. Most of our attacks are are down the right.
According to The Telegraph 45% of our attacks have been down the right wing while 30% from the left in the epl. Also our right players have received the ball 30 more times than those on the left. That stat clearly tells you that’s the way the players have been instructed to play. We always try to create an overload on that side and when it doesn’t work we are found out.
A change in tactical approach will address this problem but still we need to buy a world class striker if we ever plan on winning any major silverware
It was only a matter of time before Jesus got exposed. Yes he had a decent start but he never fooled me. Water finds its level and I knew in due time he would go back to who he actually is and that’s what we are seeing now. Even in his best season at Man City Jesus was never world class. Mind you, the reason he was blazing hot for us before the injury had nothing to do with goals, it was his all round performance and ability that was being appreciated. Even till date he plays same way just that he plays like he’s a lesser version of himself before the injury. What we need is an out and out striker who’s first thought is to shoot to score. Osimhen, Gyokeres comes to mind, not necessarily them but a striker in that mould.
Jeez, what MESS are we in.
We haven’t lost for 8 games and are third in the table!
I don’t mean we’re in a mess as pertaining to the table, I mean we’re in a mess with not having a striker that can score goals. Those who deny that are not being truthful to themselves
Everybody knows we need a striker, but the fact is Arsenal scored more goals last season than ever before without one. So are you not saying Arteta is a S&%$ manager, you’re saying he’s S&%$ for not buying a striker?
So Let’s sack him?
Guardiola, Master of the False 9, got Haaland.
Even Barca got Lewy.
But of course, Super Mik knows better than both.
Of course he knows better. He is the Arsenal manager and I will support him until he is not the manager any more. Then I will support the next one.
Do you think constant negativity will drive the team forward? I don’t think so!
you forgot Kane
those are the only proven genuine world class strikers out there, two well past it and not an option
Haaland is a generational talent, but even he is having a goal drought and his team are 1 win in 10, losing at home to Man U
recent PL big money strikers Holjund, Solankie, Zirkzee, Nunez et al all doing nothing, it is the likes of Salah and Cole Palmer tearing it up
@Pat yes we haven’t lost, imo it’s all about what the board that employed him wants than what we fans think. Fans will always be entitled to their opinion. But I do know the board are business minded people with vision and targets. The reality is after 5 years you”ll always want more from your club manager. Trophy is the end point of a football competition after 38 matches. Arteta would be measured on what he won at the end of his contract with Arsenal and only few would remember the beautiful football his team played. So it’s up to the board- his employers. As a fan, I want more after believing in the process for 5 years. How long can any fan stay with a coach without winning something major?
In agreement. Both Havertz and Rice (who cost over a whopping £160 million; that endangered breaking the FFP rules ) were due to Arteta. How come now, because his ideas are not bearing fruit, the ownership of the club has fingers pointing at them?
Both Havertz and Rice are important team members. At the same time Arsenal would benefit from having a lethal striker.
“Some suggest that without corners (set pieces), Arsenal would have been a lot worse off in the EPL table because they struggle to create and convert chances in open play.”
One could also argue, if we hadn’t had 3 sending offs super early each time, we’d be 7 points better off and currently sitting top the league.
So there are issues that we can point to the manager at, but there’s not a lot any manager can do about tons of injuries and sending offs. Maybe that’s why City and Real Madrid are also struggling right now, despite having the two best managers in world football?
If we can only afford one player in January, it has to be a quality wide player for the left wing.
A striker would be great, but it won’t actually change anything, because it’s not as if Havertz has been missing lots of chances. He’s been getting almost zero service. Our issues are mainly tactical – a lack of creativity.
Saka is our only attacking player that has been consistently performing well. Another huge issue has been individual form.
So whilst I definitely wouldn’t say no to a top level striker, and quality wide player would be more beneficial in terms of actually creating opportunities to score. The left side of our team is so dead with the poor form of Martinelli, Trossard and Merino, and no consistency of personal at LB.
The team is so off balance with quality, it’s crazy! Our left side is like a completely different team.
Not expecting much in January, but Arsenal have often done very good business mid-season, so there definitely is hope.
Lucy78
I agree 100% about the red cards and the importance of all 3 who received them. Parts of 3 matches with 10 men and 3 full matches at a time when injuries were beginning to bite. Prior, we had a harder start – at least on paper without the stupidity of the cards which although appearing harsh, were definitely self inflicted to a degree.
The problem is arteta, he keeps mentioning good strikers but doesn’t sign one, this team need a striker
Love how we ALWAYS find a way to excuse Arteta and blame EVERYTHING and EVERYONE else.
Brilliant!
And look at negative people like you repeating that EVERYTHING is Arteta’s fault, all the time.
We would be better off getting a striker at this time. Unless, we are going for the likes of Vinny or Raphinha.
It is completely Arteta’s fault and I dont see why anybody should make excuses for him. Without hindsight it was wishful thinking to believe Gabriel J. was going to be that world class striker we wanted. He was never prolific at City or produced enough individual brilliance to counter his shortcomings in scoring. You can copy and paste the same for Havertz. Both were lazy signings and down to Arterta. Now why should we allow the same coach to have another chance to buy a striker instead of making him responsible for his failures by sacking him. Havertz will be a problem in future to replace as is Gabriel J.
If Arterta was insistent on this system why did he maintain Martinelli as a starter and then go on to sign Trossard who isn’t starter quality?? Martinelli has never been a great talent. He’s in the same mould as Guendouzi who was just overhyped at Arsenal.
Is it clueless Arteta’s fault that we finished just behind the “best team in the world” for two seasons running. Is it Arteta’s fault that we are unbeaten in last 8 games in the League? And are up near the top of the Champions League?
I agree; we should stop making excuses for him.
Since when did JustArsenal get taken over by the most negative, entitled glory hunters? Cmon Arsenal fans, get behind the team and the manager and judge him at the end of the season please…
It may have something to do with the headline question.
Admin pat
Those you are calling glory hunters and negative are just pointing out what clearly has gone wrong and still going wrong under Arteta.
I would suggest you give your counter argument instead of branding people.
Imo we would have won the epl atleast once in those two past seasons not finishing second in both.
This season with the decline of the best team in the world we should be top of the table and not third if that was the only reason we failed to win.
We are dropping so many unnecessary points for different reasons, some due to lack of quality in some positions and some due to the way we set up. Unfortunately all this has Arteta in the mix.
Is it wrong if people question this?
Some of this things if addressed we will be top and not also runs because that is where we need to be.And I see we have the capacity to be top in this league.
I hope it doesn’t make me a glory hunter.
You see thats the difference. I am happy we came second in those 2 years (You should have seen some of our finishes when I was young) and I loved watching some beautiful football along the way, someone who is not happy unless they win every game and every competition is the definition of a glory hunter.
I have given my counter argument. Arsenal have injuries. They have two games a week and were playing their third game since Everton last played, and my final argument. We are unbeaten in our last 7 games despite all this, and third in the table. That is why Arsenal are entitld to the occasional slip up, if you can call a draw against a team that has only lost once in their last ten games a slip up, then fairenough thats your opinion.
Players are not robots….
yes the last 2 seasons have been outstanding as an Arsenal supporter, great football and great fun, and finishing 2nd to the best team in the world (and probably PL history) is no disgrace at all
dare I say it [or perhaps will regret saying it due to the inevitable tirades coming my way] Arsenal may well have over performed in the 2022/23 season and 2023/24 season
remember Arsenal was a poor 5th in the PL in 2021/22 season, then out of nowhere Arsenal top the PL at xmas in 2022/23 season, just Jesus and Zinc really added – Arsenal did run out of steam toward the end, but for me felt like Arsenal were way ahead of plan at that time, or another word is outperform
then last season, 2023/24, we actually had a bit of slow start and way off it until Dubai reborn stellar Feb to May where we just fell short – that form saw Arsenal win something like 14 games in 16 with +30 goal difference or something crazy like that – form that if repeated for a whole 38 game PL season would have broken every PL record, i.e. not realistically repeatable
so perhaps Arsenal has actually been performing way better than expected for 2 seasons [which i repeat have been the best 2 seasons in 2 decades for me] and this season not quite living up to that standard, yet…
i guess where i am a disappointed is Man C have all of sudden stumbled and Arsenal have not been able to take advantage, yet….
Thankyou for supporting my positive outlook on the last two seasons. But one thing that has seriously given me pause for thought is the fact that Chelsea and Liverpool brought in fresh blood as managers and are both looking good for the title fight!
But I am no way going to slag off ARteta after what he has given us fans. Sack him because we got a draw, how fuckle are “some” Arsenal fans!
It’s important to look at the whole picture when making assessments. Liverpool and Chelsea have brought in new managers but is that the whole story?
Chelsea brought in a huge number of players and though they were inconsistent last season, they had started getting into form before Pochettino was dumped. It is also worth noting that Chelsea somewhat underperformed their metrics last season whilst this season they may have overperformed to this point. This suggests they have a greater chance of a dip in results over the rest of the season compared with Liverpool.
Liverpool are somewhat different and much more of a worry for us if they keep their squad intact. This may seem obvious but it is sometimes useful to look at certain analytics which may give an indication of whether a team’s current form is sustainable. Slot, so far, has been able to maintain certain elements of the identity of Liverpool under Klopp whilst introducing more control and efficiency. Defensively they seem more robust and they are creating a similar number of chances as they were under Klopp.
Some people have suggested that Liverpool are an average side which does not make sense. Liverpool have a very good squad, good balance and at least 3 all time great PL players. They have internationals and senior top class players in many positions. Even last season they were PL contenders until they eventually fell away. Slot has done brilliantly but he clearly took charge of a team with title winning potential and so far has not had to deal with too many significant injury concerns. They have had very good cover for the injuries they have had.
@Admin Pat
Every time judge him at the end of the season, every time judge him at the end of the season. It’s now been 5 years and counting and still we continue waiting till the end of each season to judge lol. When will you hold Arteta accountable?
Okay, so if coming second to the “best team in the World” twice is a complete and utter failure (Glory Hunter) then I will concede that point.
But as you seem to have judged him now, before Xmas, with us third in the table and with only two defeats this season (both away from home), then lets just say that the Board agree that he is rubbish and sack him. Who would you replace him with right now? Could Big Sam save us from relegation maybe?
AdPat
How about the delights of Potter, O’Neil and Martin who are also are available?
Haha, yes we definitely need to avoid relegation, whoever they choose!
Oh, please.
Chelsea can win their 2nd UCL AGAINST Guardiola,
Liverpool can win their 6th UCL before Guardiola wins his first with City,
Man Utd can beat City in an FA Cup final,
But when it’s us, “Oh, booh, who can ever defeat Guardiola?”
Horrible decisions from the manager and lame excuses from fans to back him up are the real reason we’ll keep being the banter club of both England and Europe, no matter how good we seem to play in any period.
Everyone knows that we’ll just keep being content with LOOKING good, and not actually hold our Board or Manager to winning standards.
Well said Pat. The reason many responses here are mad at Arteta is because we subsequently failed to win at both Fulham and Everton and of course other similar matches. Needlessness to point out that so far we are performing at the champions level. Let’s hope we will have an all out striker come in next month, cause I have faith in Arteta adjusting the game tactics to lead the team to an EPL tropher.
Was it Arteta’s fault we dropped 7pts because of 3 super early sending offs?
Pedro Neto was a very good deal for Arsenal, I don’t know why Arteta didn’t push this deal to happen. Arsenal need a winger to replace one of Trossado or Martineli. Yes, we need a top strike and best strike that can fit our Arsenal style of play is Alexander Isak. Harvertz and Jesus are not strikes at all.
Get Lookmon Adeola from Atalanta if available in January and solve the problem of creativity from left wing and goal scoring in one player
I completely agree and I don’t think Arteta would be negative about such a possibility.
Keep on banging the Neto drum on here until we all go deaf. I have to agree that bringing in a forward who has scored a total of 4 goals in his last 64 Premier League games would be a “massive upgrade”.
Joel, I agree with you that Isak is the type of striker that suits MA’s style of play. He’s definitely a better finisher than Havertz and at least as good technically. I was, and still am, amazed we paid Chelsea £65m plus a salary of £14m per year for a player who is nothing special imo.
Jesus was bought under Artetas instructions to be our number 9. That while obvious limited success in the beginning, has failed. Arteta originally wanted Mount as Xhakas replacement but Mount wanted utd, we found out through conversations that Haverz was available. He was originally bought for Xhakas position but because of our striker failure has ended up as our false 9. We have to comply with FFP and Arteta included, everyone knows how it works. The money for our striker was spent on Jesus, the rest was spread about the team. It isn’t particularly anyones fault but the striker position has failed to materialise because other areas have used up the funds. Funds will become available in the future but that doesn’t guarantee a striker. We were pursuing Osimhen but ultimately that fell flat and part of the funds went on Haverz instead. Haverz was not bought as a striker but has ended up our only real option. Arteta could chose to play Haverz as an out and out striker but doesn’t. He prefers Haverz to float about in the false 9 area. Where it get muddy, is Merino was bought to play the Xhaka role, so now we are struggling to provide the funds to pay for a striker. It will improve but ultimately it will all be how we set up to play. The truth is we should have two strikers but we don’t even really have one. We are overloaded in 10s with Haverz, Odergaard, Merino and Nwaneri. The big problem is, Haverz doesn’t play the Xhaka role very well and although he is effective as a false 9, he isn’t a striker either. The other problem is, just like the defence. They are all hybrid roles and not traditional positions. We need a striker but we will struggle to find funds because of how we have spent so far.
It amazes me to see many on here admit that our left side attack is unbalanced, yet, blame Martinelli or Trossard for their drop in form. Saka thrives on the right due to the support he gets from either White or Timber at RB overlapping with him. Not to mention Ode and any right sided midfielder feeding him. Martinelli and then Trossard did well in the left when he had Tierney at LB overlapping and Xhaka in left mid feeding him. He has neither now and is struggling, because he has to do it mostly on his own. Overlap with whoever might be playing at LB and start attack up the left flank, with next to zero support. Go figure.
I think Martinelli struggling like Trossard because of the imbalance. My problem with Martinelli is his lack of finesse and ability to lay the right ball. He gets the ball, head down and runs and passes blind.
He misses the bigger picture.
@Reggie
Fair enough. I think his problem is no one is coaching that out of him. I’m sure it’s been seen by the coaches, seems they just let him carry on doing the same old same old. They’re more focused on the right hand side of play. My point is, he was more productive when Xhaka and Tierney were playing with him. We should have a left mid player that does what Xhaka did to get the most out of Martinelli. Nd hope that Cali gets fit soon. Because he seems to work well with Martinelli.
Put Martinelli in Bench. He does not sense pressure. Change formation sometimes using 2 Strikers. I know we don’t 1 Striker. Use Havertz and Saka upfront with Troussad as Subtitute.We need a Striker Unconventional like Osimhen or Gyokeres. Use the Academy Players or expect mass walkout. Arteta we are Trophyless for too long.I am seriously considering changing to Real Madrid or Barcelona at least I can get a Trophy a Season. We are not losers in life so stop giving us excuses. I told rival fans beginning of the season we can’t win a thing since we did not buy a Striker. We need to buy 2 Strikers not even 1. Arsenal of Wenger had 4 Strikers.
You can join PSG, you’re guaranteed at least a trophy every season. The same goes for those fans hungry for trophies, we’ve many clubs winning trophies every season. You can easily join them…. An advice 😎😎
For me there’s nothing confusing here. The trouble with Arsenal is the inability to break down teams that set up the low block. And this has been an old malaise which our coaches have not been able to get around except you consider the newfound “set piece” specialty a solution of sorts.
This Arsenal team drawing all the flak is the same that put 5 past Sporting and 3 each past Nottingham and Monaco. I won’t talk about West Ham because there set piece goals there
So the coaches need to develop a tactical template for bus parking teams. And that could include
– moving the ball faster with more precise passing
– a more direct approach to the play including shooting from outside the box inside of always trying to walk the ball through the middle into the net
The owners arent football men and it shows ,
No pressure is being put on Arteta , So Mikel wihtout any CV whatsover has complete power and control of Arsenal .
Arteta has been supported to the tune of 750 million pounds and yet we have no striker, no Left back no left winger, no back up for Saka or Odegard or Saliba . Despite this mistakes costing you in previous years .
The scouting ID , In game management , Player management of ARteta is terrible and lets not talk of youth involment .
Imagine if Wenger was given this much money .?