Arsenal have gone through a weird period of team selection. Over the past few Premier League matches, many fans will have noticed the omissions of Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe. Freddie Ljungberg, during his time as interim boss, mostly opted for the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe. The more experienced strikers and wingers aren’t getting as much game time.
Supporters will argue that this younger line-up will benefit Arsenal. However, prior to the arrival of Mikel Arteta, many of Arsenal’s stars were considering their futures. Will the new manager be able to bring consistency to both the line-up and performances?
Will Mikel Arteta Fix Arsenal’s Attacking Struggles?
Ljungberg’s Odd Exclusions
During Saturday’s match against Everton, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was subbed off for fellow striker Lacazette. This left much confusion amongst the Arsenal fans since the Gabonese ace hadn’t received much service during the game. Perhaps Lacazette could have been the one to make sure Aubameyang got the ball more.
Mikel Arteta might just prefer starting the both of them up front. With the amount of Arsenal’s talented forward options, they’d be better off with more game time together.
Ljungberg preferred one striker up front with the other on the bench. He left Nicolas Pepe out of most starting line-ups as well. Furthermore, the Ivorian hasn’t even been subbed on for most of those games either. Pepe obviously adds more of an attacking threat to the Gunners’ team, so why isn’t he being used more often?
It is definitely something that the new boss will have to correct.
More Goals Need to be Scored
Aubameyang needs to continue his run for the Premier League Golden Boot. Jamie Vardy currently leads the race, running away with 17 goals by Christmas. Gabon’s greatest player has only scored 11. Impressive, but needs to be improved on.
Lacazette has only scored five goals this season. This is sure to improve with more game time. Pepe, on the other hand, has less than that. They both need to better their records if they want to bring Arsenal higher up the league.
Gabriel Martinelli has been on fire. Brazil’s biggest wonderkid has already hit eight goals for the season, and that is sure to grow. He’s sure to become a far better player under the former Manchester City assistant manager.
Overall, the squad need to work together to bring goals. With team selection at its smartest and the talent all high in confidence, only good records shall come. However, it is all on the shoulders of the new boss, Mikel Arteta.
Will he succeed in that challenge? Furthermore, will he fix Arsenal’s defence?
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