Another December, another sticky period for Arsenal and the same debate emerges: is a striker needed in January?
Saturday’s goalless draw with Everton sparked another setback for Mikel Arteta’s side in the title race. The gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool is not any bigger but it could have been reduced had the Gunners found their shooting boots.
Arteta’s Arsenal had 13 shots on goal and created enough expected goals (xG) to justify being deserved winners – but once again their attack fell short
“We didn’t find the final pass. Sometimes I think the positioning in the box wasn’t perfect, so we have to look at that and make it better in the next game.”
Havertz does, however, have 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 is not necessarily receiving much help from others.
A guilty contender is Jesus, the German’s No 9 understudy, who has just one goal in his last 33 Arsenal appearances in all competitions. Given he has just five starts outside of the Carabao Cup this season, it appears that Arteta’s faith in the Brazilian is waning.
Marcus Rashford and Dusan Vlahovic could be on arsenal’s January transfer radar
Marcus Rashford and Dusan Vlahovic could be on arsenal’s January transfer radar
Arsenal stumbled once more in the Premier League title race on Saturday afternoon. The Gunners’ stuttering run of October and November looked to have ended with three wins in a row to end November and start December.
But it is now back-to-back draws for Mikel Arteta’s side, with the 1-1 against Fulham followed up with a poor goalless draw against Everton at home on Saturday.
They have failed to capitalise on a bit of a blip for Liverpool, in which Arne Slot’s side have also drawn back-to-back games – against Newcastle and Fulham. Arsenal remain six points adrift of the Reds at the top of the table, having played a game more.
All eyes will soon be on the January transfer window, which opens in just over two weeks’ time and whether or not Arteta opts to make any moves to improve his squad to really chase down Liverpool.
It is not a transfer window in which Arsenal are often busy, but given their position in the Premier League table, they may look to change that this time around. We asked our football.london writers to deliver their verdict on who should be the first through the door at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal have a very good squad but I still believe they are missing one important ingredient – a prolific striker. Kai Havertz has just one Premier League goal in the last two months and that’s not good enough for a side challenging for trophies.
While many may look at signing Viktor Gyokeres, I think Dusan Vlahovic is a good alternative. The Juventus striker has 11 goals and two assists in 19 appearances this season and certainly knows where the back of the net is. At 24 years old the Serbian fits the Gunners’ transfer model of buying young players with bags of potential, too.
Arsenal have been interested in signing Vlahovic previously and are most likely still tracking the player now. He is likely to cost around €60million (£50million), though, and it remains to be seen whether Arsenal can afford to pay that given the strict financial rules for Premier League sides. I wouldn’t rule out a Gabriel Jesus sale in January and that may help fund a move for someone like Vlahovic
Personally I don’t subscribe to this ‘Arsenal need a number nine’ argument. Kai Havertz is actually the perfect player for this system Mikel Arteta wants to play. He reminds me of Roberto Firmino during Jurgen Klopp’s glory days at Liverpool.
If you’re going to have a striker who doesn’t score as many goals though, you need to have prolific wingers. Bukayo Saka is managing it on one side, with 21 goal involvements in 22 matches. On the other though, Arsenal are lacking.
Gabriel Martinelli hasn’t been a consistent goal outlet for a while now, and although Leandro Trossard has proved himself capable of finding the net, Arsenal could still do more from the left hand side. There are a few options who could be the right fit.
I still think there’s a quality player in there with Marcus Rashford, and if Manchester United are willing to let him go for a good price, I’d certainly consider it. Anthony Gordon is another player I really like, and with Newcastle looking some way off Champions League football again this season, Arsenal could test their resolve.
Lee Wilmot
Arsenal need a striker. We’ve been saying it for some time now haven’t we?
And of course, it rears its head again after a goalless draw with lowly Everton. Kai Havertz is good, but he’s not going to score you 20-plus in a season and Gabriel Jesus needs to move on.
The striker I’m going to push forward is Jonathan David. It’s well-known Arsenal do not spend big money in January and with the Gunners like most clubs checking their balances and making sure they comply with Financial Fair Play and Profit and Sustainability Rules, a cheap deal for a very good striker may be the way forward.
Hence David. He is out of contract at Lille in the summer and Arsenal can either speak to him over pre-contract agreement to join for free in the summer, or bring him in on a cut-price deal in January. He is the top scorer in Ligue Un with 11 goals, with one assist for good measure too. Twelve goal involvements in 15 games is not a bad return.
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