Morning all.
We are half way through this 2024/25 season and once again, our defending is the best in the league. Perhaps it hasn’t always seemed that way during the last five months but we have kept more clean sheets (seven – level with Liverpool ) and conceded fewer goals (16) than any other club in the Premier League so far this season. It doesn’t always matter if a team concedes a goal though, not if that team is firing on all cylinders at the other end of the pitch. That’s the only difference between Arsenal and Liverpool, if they concede two they score three, if they concede one, they’ll score two. If Totts score three, they’ll score six. lol
Our top goal scorer is Kai Havertz with seven, Liverpool’s is Salah with sixteen. Their second highest goal scorer is Diaz with seven, ours is Bukayo Saka with five.
Chris Wood has scored ten goals for Nottingham Forest this season and he’s 33 years old. Chelsea’s Palmer and Jackson have 21 goals between them. Wissa and Mbeumo have scored 19 between them for Brentford whilst Watson and Duran have 14 for Villa. Wolves have scored more goals so far this season than us, which takes me nicely on to Matheus Cunha who has scored ten goals himself.
Wolves sit just one point above the relegation zone. Too early to think about which clubs will eventually drop into the Championship in the summer but, I’d imagine many of the “better” players whose clubs are already flirting with such a possibility, would probably jump at the chance of joining a club sitting at the other end of the league table.
I know transfer rumours are seldom worth giving much thought to but Cunhah is one who has been linked with a move to Arsenal. Wolves have slapped a £70 million price tag on him according to several reports in the back pages which is staggering I know but hardly unexpected. Wolves want to keep him so they are likely trying to price him out of a move. However, if by chance the links have turned his head, Wolves could be tempted to sell him. If Arsenal do really want him, I hope they get the deal done nice and early so Wolves can reinvest and we have ourselves a Premier League player who is in good form.
However, Cunha has a potential ban hanging over him after being charged by the FA for misconduct. If it’s a five match ban as has been suggested in the back pages, what would be the point of signing him? Well, he’d be back before the end of next month, sooner if the domestic cup fixtures count.
We know we’re going to be without Saka, just as we know that Jesus doing well in 2/3 games doesn’t necessarily mean things will remain that way, after all, he’d been poor for a long time. Martinelli is the best option on the right but that leaves just Trossard for the left. Sterling? Firstly he’s injured, secondly, he’s barely played which makes his loan seem one of the strangest decisions the club made back in the summer. Had we brought in a player who was actually able to fit into Arteta’s system, perhaps Saka would have had more rest time and still be fit now. I did write “perhaps”.
We can’t loan another Premier League player as two is the limit so we’ll either have to sign a PL player permanently or take an overseas player on loan for five months. Great if there’s a player like Odegaard or even Ceballos out there who despite being a really good player, can’t get into his managers plans right now but anyone isn’t better than no one if that player isn’t going to contribute to the team/squads chase for a trophy. Surely it’s better to see an academy player getting minutes rather than just someone?
When asked recently about the January transfer window, Arteta said:
Let’s see how we get there, hopefully the squad is going to be in a much healthier position than it is right now, but who knows? We are prepared if we need to do something, we’re capable of doing something, but then that transfer window is very tricky and difficult to control. The opportunities are very limited but we’ll be there.
To say we as a club are capable of doing something, I guess he means financially but as he added, January isn’t an easy time to sign players. Options might be limited but money talks. Cunha or a player of his calibre might cost £70 million but if he helps us to win the League, Champions League or even the FA Cup, he’d have been worth every penny surely?
Catch up in the comments.
Good morning Rico, one player we have continually been linked with is Newcastle striker Isak, but the Magpies have put a £150 million price tag on him, he has four years to run on his contract ad the club are trying to tie him down for even longer.
Profit and Sustainability Rules would make it difficult for any Premiership club, Arsenal included, to pay that sort of money for one player.
Morning Cicero, I’m not surprised re Isak. Why would Newcastle sell half way through a season when they still have so much to play for..
Still, it’s not like we could foresee our attacking problems arising back in the summer..
Morning Rico and all. I don’t think any one person is to blaim for were we are right now, if anythink it was all our forwards for failing to score that has let has down. and with out our defence we could be a lot worse off.
No player is worth $150 mill plus his wages on top
Morning Geoff, no, it’s an accumulation of things I’m sure. We’ve no idea how much money was available for signings back in the summer, no idea if players we wanted weren’t for sale etc etc. But, I think it was obvious we were likely to struggle to match last years goal tally..
Hi Rico
I think the problem goes back to the last transfer window, where between them Arteta and Edu made a total mess of the balance of the squad. They got rid of ESR, Eddie, Nelson and viera, and only replaced them with Merino, a different type of player, and Sterling at the last minute. I don’t want to get into where they should or shoud not have left, but they did and should have been replaced on a like-for-like basis. It left Arteta no room for rotation or change of formation, although I’m beginning to think that things like that don’t enter his mind. Until they do, I think we are in for more disappointment.
Rico, you can only look at the current side, no matter who we sold or brought, if our forwards didn’t miss some easy goals we would be in a much better place. Our defence is to thank for were we are now.
Hi Brian, agree re the sales, the lateness of them didn’t help.
To be fair though, we’re not doing a lot wrong in the way we play it’s just we’re doing it a bit too slowly imo and we’re lacking a ruthless in front of goal which I think will only come with a different kind of player.
Can’t disagree there Geoff.
For some time we’ve been accused of trying to create the perfect goal. Now we seem to play for corners so that Gabriel can bundle the ball into the net.
Predictably every opposing coach can predict what we are are going to do so they know how to defend against our predictability.
I predict that soon we will be labelled predictable. 😉
Rico, a few balls over the top would help!
We’re already predictable aren’t we?
Saying that, that’s why I liked Havertz goal on Friday. Great cross, great finish and no messing.
We do that already don’t we Brian? Perhaps not enough though.
In my opinion, we have the best defense because we give up attacking when, for example, we are winning 1-0. In other words: we prefer to opt for defensive security rather than wanting to make it 2-0 with intensity. As a result, we try to “sleep” the game, we reward possession of the ball, we exchange the ball a lot in our midfield, and we make substitutions. especially to remodel the midfield. As a result, we also scored few goals.
As for “acquisitions”: at this point, if there are no players to be released and if they are part of the team structures, these are quite a few cases. I think the best option is to look for players in championships that are at a standstill: Nordic championships, Brazil, Colombia… they are more economical and usually of good quality.
I don’t think we’re much different whether we’re 1-0 or 2-0 Jm. The game against Ipswich is a good example as once we’d scored, we still went for more goals and should have scored them.
I still believe that if we quickened our game up, we’d be more dangerous up front.
West Ham rolling over.
They play out of their skins against us.
Same old eh…
Potter I take it as a compliment when teams play like demons against us, the Totts for example ha ha.
Arsenal “cringe” after being 1-0. He makes his substitutions late and only when the opposing team loses strength, lucidity and discernment does he normally return to being on top of the game. Until then, they are always waiting, letting the game balance, worrying more about defending than attacking. That doesn’t mean they won’t attack. But the supreme concern is not to suffer and not score the second.
Morning guys.
New post up.