Arsenal’s Struggles: A Season of Misfortune and Mismanagement
No one could have predicted at the outset of this season that Mikel Arteta would find himself attempting to mold Mikel Merino into a contemporary version of Marouane Fellaini, all in a bid to salvage Arsenal’s title ambitions as the season reaches its climax. Observing Merino’s struggles against three seasoned centre-backs during Saturday’s frustrating defeat to West Ham was indeed a peculiar sight. This is not to criticize Merino; he is a versatile player doing his utmost in challenging circumstances. He made intelligent runs to evade defenders and showcased better ball retention than Rasmus Hojlund has recently, yet he never truly looked like finding the back of the net.
This was meant to be Arsenal’s season, but instead, they find themselves trailing 11 points behind the league leaders, resorting to fielding a central midfielder as a makeshift forward. How did it come to this?
Key Factors Behind the Crisis
There are two glaring reasons for this predicament: misfortune and mismanagement. The losses of Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz to season-ending injuries within the span of a month have dealt a severe blow to the squad. Additionally, the decision to refrain from acquiring or loaning a striker during either of the last two transfer windows can only be deemed as a significant miscalculation.
Another contributing factor, which may be a mix of both misfortune and mismanagement, is Arsenal’s lack of a young striker with first-team potential in their ranks. It’s evident that Arteta is trying to devise creative solutions from within his senior squad rather than turning to the U21s for a natural centre-forward. Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, who was an unused substitute during the weekend’s match, is 22 years old and has yet to score a senior goal in 26 appearances across Leagues One and Two. His profile suggests he is far from being the solution they desperately need and is expected to leave the club this summer.
- Most Premier League teams employ a formation that typically utilizes a single striker, which explains why clubs like Arsenal usually have only two established forwards at their disposal.
- However, it’s wise to have a third slot filled by an up-and-coming talent, either promoted from within the club or acquired from elsewhere.
Reflecting back to the 2014-15 season, Harry Kane found himself behind Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado in Mauricio Pochettino’s hierarchy at Tottenham Hotspur, and we all know how that turned out.
While Arsenal may not have a world-class talent ready to be unleashed as Tottenham did with Kane, they have let go of a number of promising players in recent years. In March 2024, Mika Biereth expressed in The i Paper his desire for an opportunity at the Emirates after making a striking impact on loan at Sturm Graz. He went on to play a pivotal role in ending Red Bull Salzburg’s dominance in Austrian football by leading his team to the league title. Instead of solidifying his place at Arsenal, Biereth returned to Graz permanently last summer, where he netted 14 goals in 25 appearances during the first half of the season, ultimately leading to another transfer to Monaco in January.
Monaco’s decision to acquire Biereth—a move that earned Arsenal a significant sum via a sell-on clause—was partly influenced by their first-choice striker, Folarin Balogun, being sidelined since October due to a shoulder injury. Balogun had previously propelled Arsenal to an U18 league title in 2018-19 with an impressive tally of 25 goals in just 19 games, along with a brief stint in the first team where he scored twice in the Europa League. However, he was unable to secure a regular spot in Arteta’s Premier League plans and subsequently transitioned to Monaco for a fee potentially reaching £33 million in August 2023.
Last month, Analytics FC—a consultancy firm specializing in data-driven football insights—provided The i Paper with a list of forwards sharing similar attributes with Alexander Isak, a player frequently linked with Arsenal. Notably, Balogun was among those mentioned. “Arsenal could do worse than revisiting a former player in Folarin Balogun, who ranks in the top 1 percent of all Ligue 1 players for xG per 90 minutes this season, despite his limited playing time of less than 500 minutes,” remarked Alex Stewart from Analytics FC. While Balogun’s injury woes would have rendered him unable to assist Arsenal during this turbulent phase, one player who might have been of service is the highly-rated yet still developing Chido Obi.
Alongside Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, the 17-year-old Obi was regarded as one of Arsenal’s brightest prospects, having scored an astounding 32 goals in 18 matches for the U18s. Unlike his former teammates, however, he opted to further his career away from north London, joining Manchester United. Reports suggest that United’s offer was more lucrative than Arsenal’s, but another factor influencing his decision to move north was the promise of a quicker pathway to their first team.
Obi has already made appearances as a substitute in United’s last two Premier League fixtures, indicating he is third in line behind Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee in Ruben Amorim’s attacking setup. Biereth, Balogun, and Obi either had limited opportunities at Arsenal or none at all; however, the same cannot be said for Eddie Nketiah. The 25-year-old accumulated 168 appearances across all competitions, netting 38 goals, before his transfer to Crystal Palace for £30 million in August.
Nketiah’s tenure at Arsenal lasted longer than most, but ultimately his career followed a similar path to that of others. Arteta often praised Nketiah, but the desire for regular playing time drove him to seek opportunities elsewhere. Unfortunately, his stint at Crystal Palace has not played out as expected, placing him back in a familiar backup role. Nevertheless, he would have been an ideal second or third-choice option for Arsenal this season in the absence of any new signings, proving to be invaluable.
There are myriad reasons young players choose to leave their clubs, but often it boils down to circumstance. Alexander Riget, a technical director at Danish club FC Nordsjaelland, explained that Patrick Dorgu’s departure for Lecce was influenced by “player logistics,” as the squad had three senior left-backs ahead of him. Fast forward three years, and he was sold to Manchester United for £25 million. A similar scenario has unfolded at Arsenal, where such logistics have led to numerous forwards continuing their careers elsewhere. In an alternate reality, one of these players could have been the solution to Arteta’s current striker dilemma.
As Arsenal navigates this challenging period, the hope remains that the next promising goalscorer emerging from Hale End will fulfill their potential in N7 rather than finding success elsewhere.
