Arsenal have enjoyed a very good couple of years under manager Mikel Arteta, but it is not unfair to say that we have gone a little bit wobbly this season as we just not as clinical as we should be, particularly with respect to the number of chances that we are creating.
Eight wins and six draws from our opening 16 Premier League matches sees us sat in third place in the table on 30 points, and we are potentially nine points behind league leaders Liverpool. But we remain an incredibly hard team to beat, and plenty in the wider world of football are lauding how dangerous we have become from set pieces, however we have become largely inept from open play and that point is more than proven by back to back draws against Everton and Fulham.
Unfortunately for 42 year old Arteta this has been a growing trend over the last few years as well, and whether or not it is simply a result of rival teams now knowing how to better handle his attacking game plan, or just them simply paying more attention to their defensive set up in acknowledging us as real title challengers once again, well, that is open for debate.
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The facts are clear though, after 16 games in 2022/23 we had scored 40 goals, with a shot conversion rate of just shy of 16% from 252 shots. That slipped the following season to 33 goals from 243 shots, with a conversion rate of just shy of 14% and after 16 games this year it has slipped again. 29 goals with a conversion rate of just shy of 13% from 226 shots and it has more than reignited the debate about whether or not the Gunners need a real dyed in the wool centre forward to really take advantage of the multiple chances that we do create across the 90 minutes.
The fans have long debated and talked about our former Spanish international midfielders preferred attacking line up and the various merits that those players boast, along with valid criticisms of their play, but the media headlines and transfer window rumour mill is always full of potential new striker targets.
Given the time of the year with the New Year and January almost with us again, along with the fact that our scoring issues are front and centre in the minds of many in the 2024/25 campaign we have already seen a plethora of speculation when it comes to that specific position, and it will only intensify over the coming weeks.
Whether or not we do anything in the window remains to be seen, but plenty of fans will be hoping we do strengthen.
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