Arsenal encountered a challenging holiday season, enduring a winless streak in their last four games. Mikel Arteta’s team faced three consecutive defeats against West Ham United, Fulham, and Liverpool, causing them to drop from first to fourth in the Premier League standings.
Despite being just five points behind league leaders Liverpool, Arsenal’s recent performance has exposed certain weaknesses. One prominent issue is the apparent lack of attacking prowess, with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Gabriel Jesus witnessing a decline in goal-scoring compared to the previous season.
In the previous season, Saka scored every 228 minutes, Martinelli every 187 minutes, and Jesus every 189 minutes. However, this season, Saka scores once every 278 minutes, Martinelli once every 649 minutes, and Jesus once every 313 minutes. With Jesus having only three goals this season, the potential pursuit of Ivan Toney seems logical. Yet, Arsenal appears hesitant to meet Brentford’s steep €116 million (£100 million) asking price, possibly thwarting any hopes of a January transfer.
Another concern arises in central midfield, where there is an evident over-reliance on Declan Rice amid Thomas Partey’s injury struggles. Furthermore, issues in the full-back positions have surfaced. Benjamin White’s performance has not been as impressive as the previous year, and left-back is a particular area of worry. Kieran Tierney is on loan at Real Sociedad, Jurrien Timber is injured, Oleksandr Zinchenko has shown defensive vulnerabilities, and Jakub Kiwior does not seem entirely comfortable in that role.
