Football Reporter
Arteta has been criticised for his spending at ArsenalArteta has been criticised for his spending at Arsenal
Arteta has been criticised for his spending at Arsenal | Getty Images
A former Gunner has been questioning Arsenal’s transfer strategy that has left them short of attacking players this season.
A big summer faces Mikel Arteta as he begins to enter the hotseat realm with Arsenal. The Spaniard may have managed progress during his time at the Emirates Stadium, but he has not done it without spending hundreds of millions, something few previous Gunners bosses have had the privilege of.
While some of that money had been spent on adding quality players like Declan Rice and Martin Odgeaard, there is no doubting that the Gunners sorely lack depth in a number of areas, something that has become clear this season amid a series of injuries, particularly in the attacking line.
Arsenal don’t have a good answer for a Martin Odegaard injury, and the same goes for the centre of defence, at striker and out wide. The lack of depth is alarming, and it is to the point that just one or two lengthy injuries can realistically cost the North London club a genuine title bid.
That arguably plans to poor spending, and Arteta is sitting alone on the proverbial stand, with sporting director Edu Gaspar having left the club, reportedly because of the level of power the Spaniard has been given over spending in recent times. Andrea Berta has been brought in to replace Edu, but likely under the proviso that Arteta still gets a huge say in transfers.
That is not unusual given Arteta is a manager and not a head coach, but at some point, the Arsenal board are going to ask serious questions about the club’s lack of title return for the money that is being spent, and Arteta could come under real pressure if he doesn’t fix the issues in the squad and put together a better title charge next season.
Petit on Arsenal’s poor squad planning
Former Gunner Emmanuel Petit has pointed to that, telling pokerfirma.com: “I've said that so many times. We've seen that for the last two seasons with Arsenal, especially the second part of the season when they were losing the top spot because they didn’t have the answers in the squad.
“It was Gabriel Jesus two years ago, Saka, since December this season. Havertz went out for the season, and they don't have any more strikers. The depth of the squad has been important for Arsenal, especially when you play every three days. You have to rotate because the physical and mental demands are so high in the Premier League.
“When you play for a club like Arsenal, the standards are very high, so you need to rotate. This is something that Arteta has been struggling with. They spent so much money on different positions. Not all of those players have performed well. Most of them are good enough, but the fact is they spent more than £600 million pounds to improve the team and they've done it in some positions, but some positions are missing options.
“They spend so much money on defenders, they’ve shown that they are among the best defences in the Premier League for the last two or three seasons, so it works, you don’t need to keep buying defenders. You need to get players that are able to score or give assists. And this is the area that Arsenal has been struggling with so far.
“We've seen the same problems reoccur for the last three seasons. When they lose two or three players to injuries, they lose their best players and it’s not the same Arsenal. Every single season, it repeats itself. That can’t be the case next season. Next season, I think Arteta and the club know they need to improve their squad to allow more rotation. It starts up front, and in midfield.”
Related topics:ArsenalMikel ArtetaDeclan RiceGabriel JesusPremier League
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