Mikel Arteta was bombarded with the same question all summer: “Would you sign a striker?” The Basque coach has always denied the need for a pure ‘nine’, but this Saturday the reality hit him in the face. Aleksandr Isak (Newcastle), from the penalty spot, headed the goal that caused the second defeat in two games for Arsenal and doubts arose as to whether they had been beaten in the Premier League in just ten games. In Champions the Arsenal will play this Wednesday against Inter at San Siro.
The data indicate that the Arsenal, in the top eight in the classification, he only has more goals than the Nottingham Forest. The Gunners have 17 goals in ten games, compared to 14 for the ‘Tricky Trees’, while the Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion They are also 17 and Liverpool (19), City of Manchester (21), Chelsea (20) and Tottenham (22), more.
If you keep looking at the table, the Brentford (18) also surpassed him and the lowest player, the wolveswho barely got three points out of thirty, are just three behind Arsenal.
While Erling Haaland (11), Brian Mbeumo (8) and Chris Wood (8) dream of the Golden Boot, the top scorer of Arsenal is Kai Havertz, with four goals, followed by Bukayo Sakawith three, and a central defender like Gabrielwho scored twice.
Within this poor data, the lack of effectiveness of the players in front of goal is surprising. Looking at the ‘Expected Goals’ (xG) metric, that is, the probability that a shot will end in a goal, by attackers, only Leandro Trossard is positive. The Belgian is the only one of the forwards who has scored more goals than he should, according to this parameter; He is at 0.28xG after scoring two goals this season.
Havertz (-1.93xG), Saka (-0.12xG) and even Gabriel (-0.53xG) scored less than it deserved, while the positives, Thomas Partey (0.75xG), Mikel Merino (0.31xG) and Riccardo Calafiori (0.45xG), They are not the players who can be trusted when a goal is needed.
It is also surprising how little the widest ‘nine’ in this group produced, Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian has scored two goals this year, against Nottingham Forest in January and October against Preston North End and went on to accumulate a streak of 24 games without a goal in sight. In this Premier he has not yet debuted and the sum of all his chances adds up to 0.51xG. Another disappointing thing is Raheem Sterling who also didn’t score in the Premier and only generated a dismal 0.24xG.
“I love my players and I wouldn’t change them for anyone,” he responded this Saturday Arteta after being asked again about the need for a ‘nine’.
In the near winter market, it seems difficult for Arsenal launch in any contract, because of the price, philosophy and because of the development of Edthe sports director, lays out the future strategy of Arteta and yours. However, the beginning of this season only shows that maybe Arsenal Yes, he needs ‘nine’. The league race, at the moment, puts them seven points behind the leaders.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
