Morning all.
A second night of midweek Premier League fixtures saw Totts lose 1-0 to Bournemouth on a cold, wet and windy night but in London, Fulham beat Brighton 3-1. An own goal and Alex Iwobi brace did the damage to Brighton. Until the own goal which gave Fulham the lead around the 80 minute mark, the scores were level. Brighton had more possession throughout the game, more shots too but couldn’t turn the shots into goals.
Turning shots into goals is something Mikel Arteta’s team has struggled to do this season too. Even in the games we had to play with ten men, good scoring opportunities were spurned. Gabriel Jesus hasn’t scored a goal since man first stepped on the moon, at least it feels that long ago and only Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz make it into the top twenty goal scorers this season with 5 each. Only Salah and Haaland are into double figures though with 13 and 12 respectively. Bukayo Saka 2 ahead of Salah for assists. I’m pretty sure Arsenal’s goals/assists stats would read much better had Martin Odegaard not been injured.
With the winter transfer window looming large, do Arsenal need to sign someone and if so, in which position in your opinion? My own opinion hasn’t changed since before the summer and that’s the need of a goal scorer. I don’t think we need a winger because we already have four and we certainly don’t need any more defensive players because we are well equipped in that area but creativity wise, we’re lacking depth. Neither Myles Lewis-Skelly or Ethan Nwaneri have been given big numbers in terms of minutes so far this season which I totally understand why, so do Arsenal need to strengthen the creative side of the midfield too? In an ideal world the answer is probably yes but a winter transfer window doesn’t really present too many opportunities to sign the kind of player Mikel Arteta might need. After all, he’s certainly a quality over quantity manager and rightly so.
January seems to me to be a time when clubs who have players out of contract in the summer are tempted to sell them rather than let them walk for free. That can work although it’s in the best interest for the player to wait until the summer to get his big financial deal. It’s a time when clubs who perhaps aren’t involved in European football to sell their best players for an overly inflated transfer fee just because they can and lastly, there’s the loan option. A deal like we made for Dani Ceballos or better still, Martin Odegaard. A player who constantly sits on a bench who is just desperate to play and prove himself.
A quick look at TransferMarket confirms that there are a large number of footballers out of contract next summer including a many strikers, although Jonathan David and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are the only two names I recognise who’re under 28 years old. Lille are unlikely to sell David whilst they’re competing in the Champions League and in any case, would he be on Arsenal’s radar? Is any new signing be it permanent or on loan be on Arsenal’s agenda ahead on the January transfer window I wonder. I hope so but if last January is anything to go by, it’s unlikely.
By the way, Sesko has only scored 3 goals in 12 Bundesliga matches this season….. lol
Catch up in the comments..
Good work Rico, a transfer related post never fails, we all love a transfer rumour, some fans seem to love transfer rumours more than the football, horses for courses I guess?
Yeah, the loan market seems the place for us to delve into, short term with no financial headaches if done properly, as was the case with Odegaard and now Sterling.
Don’t ask me who though…
The rumours will soon go bonkers Kev. I love it. 😜
Evan Ferguson is set to go out on loan next month apparently.
Signing strikers is fraught with danger just look at United, Zirkzee and Hojlund are hardly registering on the goal scorer lists.
Yes but Utd are rubbish Cicero. 😜
Good afternoon everyone
An enticing post Rico. And as Kev asked, who will we be signing?
We already have Cunha being likened to DB10 and being mentioned as a target besides, Sesko, Gyokeres, Isak….yaaaawwwnnnnn
I like Evan Ferguson Rico. Still young and can be moulded in what Arteta wants. he is still a raw talent and can learn since he is very young. plus he already knows the EPL.
Neville claims that Jover is annoying??? Has Neville ever looked in the mirror??? Maybe he will have to rethink who is more annoying.
As for the set pieces, Arsenal will continue to innovate. In order to stay ahead of opposition analysts, the tactics coach Jover makes tweaks as the season goes on to keep the opposition on edge and guessing — but always based on the same fundamental principles. Those do not need to change. As Wednesday demonstrated, they are working brilliantly.
And for those who say Arsenal only score from set pieces especially corners Arteta said this “Last year we scored the most goals in the history of this football club. Not because of only set pieces, because of a lot of things that we have. We want to create individual and magic moments. A lot of players can create their own goals. We can create goals from short counters and long counters, slow build-ups, restarts and the opportunity to open up the opposition. Every single phase of play let’s maximise it, keep working on it, keep improving.”
Expect the FA to introduce a new law stating that during corners only players under 5 ft 5 inches (that is my height) are allowed in the penalty area.
The thing is, if you take somebody on loan in January, especially considering the position Arsenal currently are in, you have to take somebody who is going to have an immediate impact somebody who can score goals straight away and that’s not going to be easy to find at this stage of the season.
As Devil suggests, Ferguson is a really good player who has been going through a serious drop in form, somebody who we could probably sign for a lot cheaper than it would’ve cost a year ago, but he’s going to need a lot of time and a lot of work to get him back to where he was, and I’m not sure we can afford to do that between now and the end of the season.
Saying that I’d be delighted if we signed him, but it would be a Sterling-esque gamble.
Thanks Devil.
I think Neville meant annoying in a positive way. He knows that it doesn’t matter how defenders try and stop the corners from going in, they can’t always. We have several options too.
There’s always Calvert-Lewin Kev. 😜
I like DCL as well Rico. He is much better than Sterling imo and there’s a bigger chance he might come good with our style of play especially with Arteta
Breaking news…. Arsenal have submitted a Eur100m offer to bring Rory Delapo out of retirement for his long throws. Arteta wants to add more options at set pieces. Jover creaming himself at the thought.
Meanwhile Arteta is mulling an offer to Tony pulis to be one of his assistants
At least Sterling is fit though Devil…
“Gabriel Jesus hasn’t scored a goal since man first stepped on the moon, at least it feels that long ago” so he needs to go and a striker is of prime importance.
Perhaps he will next summer, maybe even January if he’s fed up with playing a bit part which I’d imagine he is.
I don’t think winter is a good time to sign a player though, other than on loan.
Ideally we get a player, like we did with MO08, on loan with the option/obligation to buy. Someone like Arda Guler, Ferguson etc. Players who are still young, can develop and mature and also accept playing as a squad player till the end of this season until they settle down and will be valuable members of the team from the next season onwards.
Afternoon Rico and all.
Due to Edu leaving, I gut feeling is, we will use January to move on more players not required, This will give Edu replacement a chance to get to know Arterta and his / clubs direction, and therefore will only bring in a striker if there was a deal made preseason to buy in January and loan back for the second half of the season due to FFP rules.
It is a bit breezy.
Stay safe guys…
Good afternoon everyone
Everton vs Liverpool called off. That’s great as it will be rescheduled later on for when matches come in thick and fast. We have to win so as to cut the lead to 4 points. Points in the bag are better than games in hand
With Tottenham and Chelsea squaring up to each other at the same time we need to get nearer liverpool while getting away from Chelsea.
I thought the same Devil, a fixture pileup for them would be nice. Lol
Hopefully they schedule the Everton-Liverpool game for the last week of the season.
With the Dippers needing 7 points to win the league 😂
City drop two points with a 2 – 2 draw with Palace. United one down after 90 seconds at home to Forest.
One all and half-time at Old Toilet.
Rico Lewis sent off too..
Forest 3 – 1 up.
3-2 in the end, well done Forest 😂
Yeah Rico, Calvert Lewin if he could stay fit would be a brilliant loan signing, though why Everton would loan him out is another matter?
I’d imagine that Everton are looking to sell him and I’m still a little bruised from the Franny Jeffers transfer… 🙄
If Chelsea drop points and the Gunners take all three tomorrow it constitutes a pretty good weekend (week even). Happy days.
“”Well, the London-born striker who qualifies for Denmark, has scored seven goals in nine league matches, In all competitions, he’s got eight across 13 outings.””
That tally was greatly helped by a hat-trick over the weekend as Biereth knocked three goals past RB Salzburg in an incredible 5-0 rout.
Mika Biereth continue to do well . We got £ 4 million for him and admittedly Austria’s bundesliga is not the Premier League but in a 3 nil win this week he chimed in with 2 assists . As we look for a player that knows where the goal is perhaps we let one slip through our fingers.
I won’t be watching the match live today, a long planned lunch with relatives takes precedence. I’ll hopefully make it home by about 4.30 and watch the recording. I’ll leave my phone in the car so I won’t be tempted to get a sneaky update and there is no tv in the pub.
Only three of the four ex-Arsenal players will be in the Fulham side Leno, Iwobi and ESR will start. Reece Nelson is ruled out as he is on loan so not available.
A bit of good news, according to the Sun (yes I know) William Saliba is ready to sign a new long term contract despite the continued interest from Real Madrid.
I thought it was daft to sell Biereth in the summer without buying someone else. Especially as Nketiah went as well.
Both had more of a chance of scoring for us than Jesus imo, although out of the two, I think Mika has more presence on the pitch.
Enjoy your lunch Cicero, I hope the weather doesn’t interfere..
Agree Kev, Everton would want to sell because a loan is pointless when he’s out of contract in the summer.
New post up.