Cover For Key Player A Must by Benjamin
With just over three weeks left until the summer transfer window closes along with the fact that Arsenal have only completed two major transfers (David Raya and Ricardo Calafiori), it is safe to say that gooners everywhere would be feeling underwhelmed with the clubs activity so far.
But make no mistakes, Calafiori’s arrival will improve us further and bring in much needed depth to our backline. However, the lack of more major arrivals still leaves more to be desired. Coming off the back of two fantastic seasons where we fell short on both occasions to (in my opinion) the best team in the world means that ruthlessly improving the squad and adding squad depth to be able to further sustain another title push must be top priority. It is also important for us to remember that the lack of movement in terms of incomings may be down to factors only the club knows.
Looking at the current squad, however, there’s one glaring question mark that seems to get overshadowed, this being a natural replacement for our very own Starboy, Bukayo Saka. Over the last three seasons, he’s been consistently our most used forward player, appearing in over 110 PL matches over the course of that period, that’s frightening. Managing his minutes and protecting him from injury has been getting harder and harder due to the combination of many factors, but perhaps the most damaging is the lack of a more natural replacement or understudy.
Arsenal simply don’t have a solid option to call upon and potentially contest for the RW berth will help us, to not only manage Saka’s minutes but also give us the added advantage of utilizing more variation to our attacking play. Additionally, the fact that we run a risk of being destabilized due to the potential absence of a player with that importance. It is thereby a wise move to move ahead and further bolster that area, allowing us to battle on all fronts without any too little drop off in quality. Signing a player to compete with Saka will also allow us to get the very best version of him game in game out, there will be no room for complacency.
Rumors have been swirling around in recent days about Arsenal potentially making a move for Leroy Sané, the reports suggest that it is in no way concrete, but rather having an eye on his situation at Bayern Munich. He truly has a strong profile that would make him an ideal player for us, He is rapid, has tons of experience, along with elite dribbling and ball carrying. He truly would be a dream signing for us at this stage of the window.
Other names Arsenal have been linked with in the past have been Nico Williams, Johan Bakayoko and Pedro Neto. Looking internally, player’s like Fabio Vieira, Trossard, Reiss Nelson and Gabi Martinelli have all played on the right before and are viewed as able deputies in case of Saka’s absence But due to it not being their natural position an imbalance is therefore caused which not only affects the right sided dynamics but also causes Mikel Arteta to tweak his system to accommodate said imbalances.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Signing a top right winger to ease the workload on Saka should be considered top priority by the club towards the end of the transfer market. Furthermore If we’re only going to sign one attacking player then a natural RW should be the only one coming through the door.
You just have to look at the strength in depth of rivals, especially Man City, to know that having strength in depth is absolutely imperative to winning the most competitive league in the world!
Should arsenal sign a new right winger, or will the internal solution be sufficient?
Benjamin
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
Sane is in the top 10 highest earners in the world, and he’d 28. He never dominated in the PL or in thr Bundesliga.
Would be a disaster of a signing with the finances involved.
InSane!
Did you actually read my post? Were you at the game on Wednesday to see how he played? Are Arsenal in a position to financially spend on a backup for Saka? Perhaps they aren’t. If they are then that’s a different matter
I apologise I apologise for my post to you as I mistook your reply as being intended for my post. You may think I’m insane as well
I wouldn’t suggest for one second that Vieira is a shoo in, but from what I saw in the BL friendly on Wednesday it was a much better performance than I expected. He stuck to his task and made several incisive passes
I was impressed with Vieira in that Bayer friendly. He looked more healthy and not timid. Every time he got the ball he was not looking to pass on the responsibility as quickly as possible.
Most of the time he was on the ball he kept it even if being closed down, and was very assured.
Him being very timid has been my only criticism of him. Since he’s been here he looked very nervous, weak and intimidated. Hope he has learned from the likes of Saka, Odegaard, Trossard, Martinelli etc..
after midfield rebuild, i would prioritise forward versatile enough to play across the front three with right wing in his armoury over an out-and-out striker
i think that’s why Arteta/Edu were so keen on Sesko or Williams, and less so on Osimhen or Gyrokeres
but not Sane as age profile does not fit and too expensive for a temporary solution
Jesus is a very capable wing option, Nwaneri a possibility too, remembering that at least half our opponents are likely to deploy a low block so the ‘flying winger’ is not as effective (e.g. Martinelli last season) and working in tight spaces is a bigger asset, both those players plus Vieira and Trossard are well suited to that
Trossard play on the RW for Belgium in the last Euro 24 competition. He was outplayed from his natural position because of the arrival of Doku and believe me, Trossard played rubbish. This means RW is not his position and Arsenal can’t depend on him in that Wing. So, I will say we go for a natural RW player like Neto to deputise Saka.
Thank you.
But international football is a bit different. Many good players look terrible when playing for their National teams.
So, can a short tournament where players have to adjust a lot as a template to guage any given player’s abilities..
I agree with earlier comments about Leroy Sane.
As we saw in the last game of last season, Martinelli is a good back up for Bukayo Saka on the right wing. Saka and Martinelli are already fairly well used to swapping over sides at times, as we have seen in matches in the past.
Therefore, you have Saka, Martinelli and Jesus as options for the right, and Martinelli, Trossard and Jesus as options for the left.
If I were Arteta, I would prioritise giving Saka rest and Martinelli minutes on the right as soon as we are 3-0 up in matches so that Martinelli feels as at home on the right as possible.
Sane would be a mistake, Gnabry however…
Ok ok hear me out,
He’s a world class player who just had a poor season due to injury and his stocks and market value have never been lower than now,
He’s also gooner at heart and never wanted to leave in the first place…
It’s time to bring him home!
If he never wanted to leave he could’ve stayed, seeing as he still had 2 years left on his contract and was offered an extension. Good player who I liked, but he made his choice.
Viera is not a winger. He’s no pace. Pace is required as a winger in the EPL and he has non. He can only play in midfield
Benjamin you fail to mention the one player who is the best back up for Saka and that is Jesus.
Correct…
Also Martinelli and Viera can play on RW…
For LW it’s only really Martinelli and Trossard…so maybe that’s where we need to as seems plenty of back up for RW
Habetz can also play CF which allows Jesus to move over to the right if we want Saka to take a rest in some of the games against lower opposition…he can always come on with fresh legs if we need him
So for me lots of forward options just perhaps a LW required…can Nwaneri play there ? Ir is he more midfield?
Arsenal have covered all department
We need Osimhes only him
Uhm, no thank you.
The best striker in the world is useless if he can only 15 games a season.
That literally makes him not the best striker in the world by definition…