Another December, another difficult period for Arsenal and the same debate arises: is a striker needed in January?
The goalless draw against Everton on Saturday caused another setback for Mikel Arteta's side in the title race. The gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool is not wider, but it could have been smaller if the Gunners had found their shooting boots.
Arteta's Arsenal had 13 shots on target and created enough expected goals (xG) to justify the deserved winner – but once again their attack fell short.
Over the last three Premier League games, Arsenal's overall quality based on open play has been questioned. They relied on corners to find the net in the 2-0 win over Manchester United and the 1-1 draw against Fulham before drawing a blank against the Toffees this weekend.
If Arsenal struggle to break a low block, at least they have an expertise of set-pieces they can rely on. Against Everton, however, Sean Dyche's side held them to dead-ball scenarios, restricting them to their third-lowest xG total from set-pieces of the season. Their not-so-secret weapon was unavailable.
During setbacks like this, pointing to the center front is the first thing critics turn to. Kai Havertz, not a striker by nature but someone who has held the line well this calendar year, has scored just one goal in his last eight Premier League starts.
“Just the little details in the penalty area, we didn't manage that,” Havertz said after his final clean sheet against Everton.
“We didn't find the final pass. Sometimes I think the positioning in the penalty area wasn't perfect, so we have to look at that and make it better in the next game.”
However, Havertz has scored more goals in all competitions this season than Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Raheem Sterling combined. While Havertz has his own critics, he doesn't necessarily get much help from others.
A guilty contender is the German's number 9 Jesus, who has scored just one goal in his last 33 Arsenal appearances in all competitions. Considering he has just five starts outside the Carabao Cup this season, it appears Arteta's faith in the Brazilian is waning.
However, despite the obvious need for depth up front, there were calls last year for Arsenal to sign a striker this time around. The Gunners finished the league campaign with 91 goals, partly due to their ability to spread these around the team, especially through set-pieces.
In any case, the noise coming out of Arsenal at the moment suggests that they will only move in the January transfer window if serious injuries hit the squad, or if there is a long-term transfer target, such as the arrival of Martin Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid. in 2021 – will be available sooner than expected.
A staunch defender of his players, Arteta seems ready to support his team again. So if not a striker, how do Arsenal solve their goalscoring problems?
While there is a lot of praise for a striker, there is one area that can definitely be improved: the left wing.
Martinelli and Trossard have both been rotated into that position in recent weeks, without making any real claim for the spot; the pair have scored one Premier League goal each since mid-October.
And what it has meant is that there is a dependence on Arsenal's right flank, where Odegaard and Bukayo Saka are the main creators.
Year after year, the Gunners have increasingly relied on that flank. On the one hand, they play to their strengths. On the other hand, they are becoming increasingly predictable.
Perhaps a run-out for Sterling, who has been given just one Premier League start so far and is in line to get another in Wednesday's Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace, could shake things up on that flank .
After all, Arsenal's free-flowing side from two seasons ago saw Martinelli end the season with fifteen Premier League goals. The Brazilian has scored just nine in the 18 months since, so there is an argument that Arsenal's attack is currently unbalanced and weighs heavily on Saka's side, rather than lacking quality through the middle.
Another concern is the dependence on Captain Odegaard. The Gunners felt the creative gap in their squad when the Norwegian missed six weeks of the season from mid-September, but this was even more evident on Saturday against Everton.
Arteta brought Odegaard off after 65 minutes and although the Arsenal captain did not have his best game, the Gunners are not the same side when he is out of the team.
After that substitution, Arsenal had just two shots – which equated to 0.14 xG – compared to an effort on target every five minutes or so when he played.
Odegaard was replaced by teenager Ethan Nwaneri, who Arteta was reluctant to use when his captain was out injured, but was happy to throw in late in the game against Everton.
It shows that while there may be external influences that could help Arsenal's current malaise, especially through open play, there are internal factors that Arteta and his coaching staff must resolve first.
Watch Arsenal's next two matches live on Sky Sports. Mikel Arteta's team will take on Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening, starting at 7:30 PM. The Gunners then face the Eagles in the Premier League on Saturday, kicking off at 5.30pm. Stream with NOW.
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