For the second straight season, Arsenal led the Premier League standings at Christmas, but since then, everything have fallen apart.
For the majority of the previous season, Mikel Arteta’s team and Manchester City were evenly matched, but a deficiency in depth ultimately tilted the scales in favour of the Cityzens.
However, with Liverpool in first place and having already gained five points, the Gunners’ hopes of winning their first top division title in twenty years may be dashed sooner rather than later in 2023–2024.
Arsenal’s executives still have time to restart the team’s title defence, but time is of the essence and they cannot afford any more setbacks.
Back-to-back league defeats by London rivals Fulham and West Ham United towards the end of 2023 exposed the team’s deficiencies and highlighted three crucial areas in which Arsenal has to make improvements in January.
It’s time to use the transfer window for action.
COMPLETE-BACK DISASTER
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko’s recurring injuries have emphasised the campaign’s early going.
Ben White is still a very reliable choice at right back, although the aforementioned losses were largely caused by his limited offensive capabilities.
Arsenal needs a new right-back while they wait for Jurrien Timber to recover from a serious injury.
The Gunners’ top objective is now Galatasaray player Sacha Boey, and negotiations between the two teams are actively proceeding.
But the Turkish team’s asking price has proven to be a roadblock, causing Arsenal to back off and reevaluate their choices.
OVER-STIMULATION OF SAKA
In Arteta’s setup, Bukayo Saka has established himself as the attacking leader by taking control of the right side.
However, in contrast to previous season, the England international has had inconsistent play this year, and the Gunners have unable to adapt to his decline in form.
Arsenal must lessen their reliance on the 22-year-old if they are to vary their offensive options and break the developing monotony.
Leandro Trossard has shown to be an unworthy substitute, despite his sporadic bursts of brilliance, and Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe are far below Saka’s calibre.
Arteta is given two options.
He can either tweak his tactical strategy to relieve pressure on the overworked winger or recruit a new player to give his struggling frontline a new dimension.
A DEFICIENCY OF CRITERIA
Although it hasn’t worked out, Arsenal may have believed that Gabriel Jesus’ 2022 transfer from Man City would be a long-term solution to their goal-scoring issues.
The Brazilian suffers from frequent injuries and is not a “classic No9,” meaning he cannot consistently score 20 goals or more in a season.
When it comes to team dynamics, Jesus is an excellent choice. It is good that he is prepared to give up something for the team, drop back to assist with build-up play, and rotate on the wings.
By any means, though, he is not a particularly good goal scorer. And Eddie Nketiah isn’t either.
Despite his lengthy suspension, Arsenal planned to sign Ivan Toney from Brentford in light of this.
That agreement is no longer possible since, as Thomas Frank stated on Monday (via beIN Sports), the 27-year-old committed to the Gtech Community Stadium for the foreseeable future.
Santiago Gimenez of Feyenoord would be a good addition, but there are usually drawbacks when acquiring overachievers from the Eredivisie.
