It’s obviously still early for Arsenal in terms of how they’re going to handle without the injured Bukayo Saka.
They got off to a winning start without this talismanic winger, albeit quite unconvincingly as they beat Ipswich 1-0 at the Emirates. You would suggest though that the two very tricky away games at Brentford and Brighton will give us a clearer indication of how they will cope without the England international.
Whatever happens, I really feel like they need to do everything they can during the January transfer window to bolster what now looks like a pretty threadbare attack.
Yes, January is a notoriously difficult window to do decent business, but it’s not impossible and hopefully Arsenal have been working really hard behind the scenes to try and identify a few opportunities that could give them the boost they need they need.
I’m not necessarily talking about a big move in January. That kind of move may have to wait until summer. But the club certainly has the opportunity to do something to fill the void that Saka’s absence will leave.
Arsenal interest in PL star CONFIRMED
Arsenal are always reluctant to do business in January and the message coming in this window through the conversations I’ve had has always been that the club would be reactive rather than proactive in the market.
That’s understandable, but it feels like something they need to respond to. Losing Saka for ten weeks is a massive blow. It’s that simple.
I don’t think anyone who comes in has to be a like-for-like replacement. They just need another option who can play in the front line and contribute goals and assists.
I’m a big fan of Matheus Cunha and Arsenal’s interest in him that makes a lot of sense. I understand though that it would be very difficult to take him away from Wolves midway through the season as they battle relegation.
Arda Guler on loan from Real Madrid would also be an interesting move in the short term. We’ve seen Arsenal have some success with a deal like this in the past. Think for example of Martin Odegaard.
Guler is young, but he has shown he can perform on the biggest stage and has the talent to make a difference in the final third.
So there could be options for Arsenal, it’s up to them to find them.
I thought Gabriel Martinelli played well on the right against Ipswich. There were some good moments and I think it would be unfair to write him off as an option on that side after just one start.
It’s going to take him some time to get used to playing this role and it’s going to take time for his teammates to get used to someone other than Saka occupying these positions.
Arsenal will be different without Saka. Mikel Arteta has already said it. They can’t just keep playing the same way with someone else playing their role and expect things to be exactly the same.
Martinelli had some good moments against Ipswich. He made a few good crosses, including one that played a part in the goal.
I want to see him do more of that. Just move the ball to his right foot and place it in the danger zone before the defense is set up. The fact that he can do this, rather than cutting inside with his stronger foot like he does on the left should be an advantage for Arsenal.
However, he clearly needs to work on becoming more of a threat himself. He didn’t have a chance against Ipswich and that’s not enough. He must be a threat, like Saka always is.
Until the window opens, I still think Martinelli is Arsenal’s best option on the right. Ethan Nwaneri is another and is more of a one-to-one replacement given the way he plays and how he likes to cut inside to the left.
It would be nice to see him try there at some point, but I think you have to stick with Martinelli for now and give him a chance to get used to the role himself.
It’s difficult to look at Liverpool at the moment and see them slipping.
There is still a long way to go and no one knows better than Arsenal how difficult it is to maintain such an impressive pace over an entire season.
But they look so strong and are clearly playing with so much confidence right now. It is very difficult to see where a prolonged error is coming from.
In Mo Salah they currently have the best player in the world and he is proving the difference week after week.
The numbers he produces are incredible and when you have players like Cody Gakpo, Luiz Diaz and Jota supporting him, it’s simply an embarrassment of riches for Arne Slot.
Perhaps the contract issues with Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk will start to have a negative impact on Liverpool, but at the moment it looks a bit like rival teams grasping at straws.
Just look at the West Ham game. Before that, everyone was talking about Trent and the rumors that he had already announced to Liverpool that he would be leaving for Madrid.
Did this cause a distraction? No, he played, played well, Liverpool scored five and he scored one himself.
So I don’t really see it making much difference. If Arsenal or anyone else wants to get Liverpool back, they will have to do it by doing things themselves, rather than relying on some sort of implosion within the team at Anfield.
What’s wrong with Tottenham? I mean, that’s a question that someone could spend years studying and still not find a suitable answer.
To be honest, I’m not sure much has gone wrong with them this season. It’s just Tottenham. That’s what they do.
I mean, is anyone really surprised by his struggles this season? I can’t imagine they are.
They have good players, they play good football and, on their day, they can beat anyone. To me they look like a cup team led by Ange Postecoglou.
This could finally earn them a trophy. After all, they are in the semi-final of the League Cup and you would think they should go far in the Europa League, but I don’t see them competing for the championship unless Postecoglou changes his ways a bit.
They’re just too open and way too easy to remove.
They’ve had a lot of injuries this season and that has to be taken into account, but it’s not like they’re watertight when they have Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven fit, is it? They still concede too many goals.
It will be interesting to see if Daniel Levy stays with Postecoglou. You never know what he’s going to do.
I guess when people ask what’s wrong with Spurs, then Levy has to enter the conversation.
How many managers has he hired who failed? The only real success story was that of Mauricio Pochettino and Levy sent him off shortly after taking the club to the Champions League final because he felt he could improve.
That didn’t go very well, did it…
