“Behind what hills does happiness hide, to lurk and plot its return?“ (From ‘At the Loch of the Green Corrie’ by Andrew Greig).
I cannot deny that the last 10 days or so have been difficult. Losing six points against West Ham and Fulham was not expected and could hurt our challenge for the title. It sucks.
But there is no reason for despair or doing something crazy on the transfer market this January. Every team has had a slump this season, and Arteta and the team just have to work hard to get out of theirs again. One or two tweaks could make a real difference, and so could a clever loan-deal or the purchase of an unexpectedly available gem of a player. One of the arguments for our recent lack of goals is that Arsenal have become predictable; that they have been studied and found out. Teams sit deeper and deeper and play us on the break and hope for set pieces. But surely this is nothing new: we have been playing like this for a couple of years now and our team, like any other top team, gets studied all the time.
My main argument for being less effective in attack is, which will not come as a surprise to regular readers, the departure of Xhaka AND the injury to Timber. The left side is much less effective this season, and it looks like Timber was the one who would move into midfield from defence to support the attacking game from the left as much as possible. Jurrien started the season with an incredible engine and energy, and neither Zinch or Tomi are as effective. On the right we may be experiencing something similar with the loss to injury of Partey.
But there is also an argument for a lack of a maverick in the team: someone who is unpredictable, can move through the lines with the ball quickly and puts fear into the opposition constantly. I think we all agree that Odegaard does all of this but that we may need another midfielder to do the same. Xhaka was certainly not that type of player, and Havertz is a work in progress. The Ode is a joy to watch and he is working his socks of but he just cannot do it all on his own.
So how can Arsenal improve their unpredictability and effectiveness in attack with the currently available squad?
The above team is what I suggest would make a change. Zinch is a liability in defence but the boy can pass and harass the opposition like no other. His energy and drive are great, and any mistakes he makes are likely to be less costly with Declan mopping up behind him. Tomiyasu is a much better defender and he can push up and play next to Declan better than any other available option for the RFB. Oleksandr and Odegaard high up in midfield would form a stronger footballing duo than the current one of Ode and Havertz.
But Zinchenko is not the maverick we are after. In my humble opinion, the biggest maverick we have is Jesus, and we need to give a bit more space and freedom to him to utilize his strongest skills. As a CF he has freedom to roam but this season he seems to be struggling with creating mayhem in and around the box area, and I think he would be much more effective on the left at the moment. Together with the to him well-known Zinchenko, Jesus can reinvigorate the left flank. And boy do we need this.
I do not think Kai is a maverick but there is something Kanu-like about his play: unpredictable, hard-working, weird fox in the box, and a player a team simply needs to have in its midst. He is also better in the air than Jesus and more likely to score the ugly sort of goals. I don’t see the German as a typical CF, and he does not see himself like this either, but he can play with his back towards goal, link up with other attackers and thus create space for shots and runs into the box for the likes of Jesus, Odegaard and Saka. I think Eddie and Marti – for Kai and Jesus – can be good back-up players in this formation. Of course, a fit ESR can be a great backup, if not first choice, for the ‘new Zinchenko’ position.
Now, I will always welcome a new purchase, especially a CF, and we certainly could do with a plan-B CF addition, but a tweak or two could also make a real difference. I like it that our goals can come from anywhere and that we have multiple scorers, and I don’t think introducing a beast of a CF will be a step improvement. We just have to get the left flank working properly again.
The really good thing is that Arteta’s unexpectedly fabulous 22-23 season was not a fluke; and how different it is for Eddie Howe and Erik Ten Hag right now! Every teams has ups and downs, and Arsenal are still a work in progress (just look at the age-profile of the players above!), but (future) champions know how to overcome these (mostly) from within. Trust the squad, trust the process, trust the values of the club, trust the manager to get it right.
Come on You Rip Roaring Gunners!
By TotalArsenal.
Bergkampesque 
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