Fortunes in football can change very fast, at a point; Arsenal was on a 7 game unbeaten run and fans were waxing lyrical about their performances but with losses to Manchester United and Everton in a row, suddenly the tune has changed with fans calling for the sack of the coach and for some players to be sold or dropped.
The transfer window opens briefly in January and most clubs will be looking at reinforcement to salvage the season. Arsenal should be tops on the list of those ready to shop with the underwhelming performance of some of their star players in vital positions in the team
Club captain and 300k a week player, Auba, who has received criticism lately not only has his goals dried up but he also seems to have his mind somewhere else.
His work rate has reduced considerably and his position has been threatened by Martineli. Against Southampton on Saturday, he was not part of the match day squad and when manager Arteta was quizzed by the press during his pre-match media rounds, he simply said the captain was dropped due to a “disciplinary breach”. It was later gathered that Auba was granted permission to travel during the weak for personal reasons but came back later than expected and could not meet up with Covid quarantine regulations, hence, the decision by the club to omit him completely from the team. As a leader in the team, he should be displaying good examples for others to emulate. The team went on to defeat Southampton 3-0 with his replacement, Martineli, giving a good account of himself with strike partner; Lacazette opening the scoring on the 21st minute. To make it worse, he (Auba) will be off to the AFCON come January, so what better time than now for the club to look for alternatives or gradually ease in the more energetic Martineli into the team, permanently.
With Nketiah turning down a new contract offer, Folarin is rumored to be heading out on loan and Lacazette out of contract at the end of the season. Surely, Arsenal should be looking at getting a good striker in by January. Names like Dudan Vlahovic of Florentina FC of Italy have simply just refused to go away with Arteta and Football Director; Edu, said to be keen admirers, but at age 23, he won’t come cheap.
But up front is not the only department in Arsenal that needs attention. Ghanian midfielder, Thomas Partey, came at a heavy price but has not been able to light up the field like he did back in Spain.
He too will be away for the AFCON, sadly. In his stead is another African who has seen game time frizzle out week in week out, Egyptian Mohammed Elneny, who already has one leg out of the club with interest coming in from Turkey where he spent some time on loan last season. The midfield will obviously get thinner come January with the club left with just Odegaard, Sambi and Xhaka with the former enjoying a rich vein of form, and scoring his third goal in as many matches against Southampton on Saturday. But with his injury history, Odegaard cannot be relied upon for long stretches.
Former Liverpool workhorse, Wijnaldum, who signed for PSG for free has found game time hard to come by in Paris and is open to a move back to England. Will he be a good fix for Arteta’s men? Even if it’s just for 6 months to help sure up the leaking and dangerously thin midfield, it would not be a bad idea considering he has EPL experience already winning the league title and UCL while at Anfield.
Fans are hoping that the team gets back into Europe at the least, and it will take top notch performances to make it a reality. The first step will be getting it right in January in the transfer market.
Don’t mess it up, please!
