Arsenal’s striker crisis
Arsenal’s transfer business next summer seems to be strongly predicated on the need for a striker
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has struggled in front of goal so far this season, with his latest high-profile miss against Newcastle United 12 days ago, and a no-show performance against Manchester United, summing up his difficulties at present.
How did he not score there!? 🤯
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang misses an absolute sitter for Arsenal… pic.twitter.com/hf2O1ApmgB
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 27, 2021
Worse yet, he was overlooked by Arteta when chasing the game against Everton, with Eddie Nketiah being brought on before the Gabon star, despite Nketiah having rejected a new contract the week before and being due to leave on a free in the summer. Alexandre Lacazette, Arsenal’s other big money forward, is in the same boat.
This leaves only Folarin Balogun able to operate through the middle, and despite continuing to impress at underage level, he has made just one senior Premier League appearance, suggesting that perhaps the youngster is not ready to assume the Aubameyang mantle just yet.
“Most likely will go on loan”
Speaking at a meeting of the Arsenal supporters trust, Arsenal’s former captain and now Academy head Per Mertesacker shed some light on the Arsenal striker situation.
Asked about who he thinks is next to follow in the footsteps of huge successes Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe by making the step up from the academy to the first team, Mertesacker revealed:
“I think the closest, at the moment, to make that step is Flo Balogun”
He continued:
“He’s transferred in to the first team dressing room. He still plays 23s football and probably most likely will go on loan in January because you need extra exposure to get to that next level so he needs to make that transition.”
Should Balogun depart, it offers an explanation into why Eddie Nketiah is still seeing gametime despite turning down a new contract at the club. Put simply, when Aubameyang leaves for the Africa Cup of Nations, he will be vying with Lacazette for a first team spot.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 15 | 23 | 35 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 15 | 32 | 34 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 15 | 26 | 33 |
| 4 | West Ham United | 15 | 9 | 27 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 14 | -1 | 25 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 15 | 1 | 24 |
| 7 | Arsenal FC | 15 | -4 | 23 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 15 | -1 | 21 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 15 | -2 | 20 |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 15 | -3 | 19 |
| 11 | Leicester City | 15 | -4 | 19 |
| 12 | Everton FC | 15 | -6 | 18 |
| 13 | Brentford FC | 15 | -2 | 17 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 15 | -2 | 16 |
| 15 | Leeds United | 15 | -7 | 16 |
| 16 | Southampton FC | 15 | -7 | 16 |
| 17 | Watford FC | 15 | -9 | 13 |
| 18 | Burnley FC | 14 | -7 | 10 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 15 | -13 | 10 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 15 | -23 | 10 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 9 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 7 |
| Silva, Bernardo | Manchester City | 7 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 6 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 6 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 6 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 6 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 6 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 6 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 5 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 5 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 5 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 5 |
| Pukki, Teemu | Norwich City | 5 |
| Cornet, Maxwel | Burnley FC | 5 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 5 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 6 | |
| Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester City | 1 | 5 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 4 |
| Canos, Sergi | Brentford FC | 5 | |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 5 | |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 5 | |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 5 | |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 5 | |
| Duffy, Shane | Brighton & Hove Albion | 5 | |
| Lascelles, Jamaal | Newcastle United | 5 | |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 5 | |
| Ward, Joel | Crystal Palace | 5 | |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 5 | |
| Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 | |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 5 | |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 | |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 | |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 1 | 3 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 4 | |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 4 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 7 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 6 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 5 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 4 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
| Redmond, Nathan | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 3 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 3 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 3 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
| Henderson, Jordan | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Canos, Sergi | Brentford FC | 3 |
| Lowton, Matthew | Burnley FC | 3 |