Toothless Arsenal desperately need January reinforcements

Cameron Smith

20 Sept 2024 10:00 BST
3 min read

On the surface, Arsenal’s start to the 2024-25 season has been impressive, if not spectacular.

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Mikel Arteta’s side are second in the Premier League table, having picked up 10 points from a possible 12 during the opening four matches, and their most recent win was a 1-0 victory over arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

However, there are certainly issues when delving slightly deeper.

So far this season, Arsenal rank a lowly 14th in the Premier League for xG created (5.0), with Manchester City leading the way (9.2) ahead of Manchester United (7.9) and Liverpool (7.8).

Meanwhile, their xGA (Expected Goals Against) is currently the fifth-best, behind both Nottingham Forest and Fulham.

Last campaign, Arsenal ranked third and first for those two metrics, and hence were deserving of their second-place finish. It’s a different story this time around.

Arsenal need January reinforcements

Arsenal’s dip in chance creation is the most concerning aspect of their early-season form.

Arteta’s side sorely missed the creativity of Martin Odegaard against Tottenham and relied on yet another set-piece goal to secure all three points versus their north London rivals.

As a result, signing a capable deputy for the Norwegian appears like it should be a priority for the January window.

© IMAGO - Martin Odegaard is currently injured

The summer exits of Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe have left Arsenal rather short in attacking midfield and just weeks later, they’ve already paid the price for those two transfer decisions.

Arsenal’s troubles without Odegaard were exacerbated during a 0-0 Champions League draw away to Atalanta on Thursday.

On the night, Arsenal created very little in the way of clear-cut chances and any opportunities they did fashion out were missed by an out-of-sorts forward line.

Furthermore, they were close to losing the game, but David Raya stepped up by saving Mateo Retegui’s second-half penalty and the Italian’s follow-up header.

As a result, Arsenal must prioritise signing an Odegaard back-up during the January window if they want to fix their current problems regarding chance creation.

Furthermore, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz continue to show flashes of brilliance in the number nine position, but with Benjamin Sesko, Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Boniface all scoring in the Champions League this week, Arsenal would be wise to bolster their striker options during the mid-season window.