Should Arsenal just focus on Jesus and Havertz?
Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal squad will want to be fighting for the title again this season and with the pre-season coming in fast and quick, some Arsenal fans are disappointed that we haven’t managed to get a striker in before we go to the USA and officially start our pre-season.
With the squad looking pretty much the same as last season, it leads me to question what Arteta’s plan is for the striker position this season and if they really need to bring in another striker when they have both Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz to choose from, not to mention Leandro Trossard who can also play that role if needed.
Jesus spent what felt like a very long time away with injuries last season and Havertz stepped up to the plate, even though he was initially brought in as a midfielder, he shined in his natural position and managed to change a lot of people’s opinions on the ex-Chelsea man.
As the season comes closer, the striker rumours have stopped being so prominent and we’ve been looking in other areas and to be honest, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. We have Jesus, who when he’s fit, he can be world class, he brings that Brazilian flair and can be extremely hard to beat and scores some beautiful goals. He is getting a bit older and if we are being honest, he’s not the same player we got from Manchester City, but that’s expected.
In Havertz, we have a striker who is always in he right place at the right time, he’s smart and strong and knows exactly where the back of the net is. He’s sill got plenty left in him and when he’s given the freedom to play where he wants, he excels. Havertz is also the type of player to pop up and score a last-minute winner and bring belief back into the side. Although he’s from a London rival, he’s managed o become a fan favourite and we’ve got to see a side of the player at Arsenal that Chelsea didn’t get to see.
In my opinion, I’d ideally want Arteta and the recruitment system to bring in a young striker or promote someone younger from the academy. We could keep Jesus up top but bring in a younger striker who he could learn off and build someone up from there. Yes, it can be a tad risky, but with the help of both Jesus and Havertz, it gives us the depth and strength we need and then we can think about bringing in another striker next summer and getting rid of Jesus then.
What’s your thoughts Gooners?
Daisy Mae
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honestly I don’t think you mean anything of what you just said
Starting with those two as our main attack options just isn’t good enough.
Leftback, central midfield, creative option & striker is required.
Just Havertz & Jesus is Arteta not doing his job.
Without any additional signings in this area, it could be a very frustrating season unless Jesus comes back completely.
I can understand why some of our fans are panicking about a striker.
I myself was hoping for another midfielder in the mould of Partey or a younger legged Jorginho then we are good.. Midfield right now is much more important than a striker in my opinion.
Pathetic! This is the exact reason why we won’t become EPL Champions in 2025. We all knew the areas that needed to be strengthened before summer. Why the awful quietness? Anything short of a Halland-like striker, a strong DM, a quality cover for Saka, and a completed deal for Calafiori will make AFC come short of expectations this season.
The most painful news is Arsenal’s drive in the pursuit of Guehi. Edu and Arteta are mad over a centre-back when we conceded the least goals last season.
I’m waiting for them to start running from pillar to post at the 11th hour then come back to tell us that they have no enough time to complete crucial transfers.
you must acknowledge that Arteta knows that Arsenal had mediocre defense for almost 2 decades
“The most painful news is Arsenal’s drive in the pursuit of Guehi. Edu and Arteta are mad over a centre-back when we conceded the least goals last season.”
If we had conceded just a few goals less, we would’ve won the league as well. Winning doesn’t always mean you have to score 20 goals more than every other team; you could do it by conceding 20 less as well.
And a question to you, which area has Arsenal suffered more through injuries? Defense or Offense? Which area then would require more bolstering?
It’s ok they must do as they please and not buy a lethal striker then at the same time Arsenal must accept the fact that they will lose key players like Saliba next season. World class players surely want to win trophies if you can deliver they will leave at some point.No wonder these players left Arsenal the likes of Roben Van Persie, Fabrigas, Adibayo,Nasri etc
You have to know certain esteemed members of this site who will defend anything they perceive as a criticism however miniscule it is.
Even if Arteta decide to play Partey as a goalkeeper tomorrow not only will they find way to defend it, they will also call it a masterstroke.
What juvenile sensationalism.
I can’t even be bothered to address the crap I just read.
Definitely Arteta and Edu know more about their own squad that they have built than your typical over the top online fans meltdowns.
Smh
I also think Arteta will still rely on Havertz, Jesus and Trossard for the CF role, whereas Nketiah might go to Marseille
But Arsenal could surprise us. Remember when they signed Lacazette and Aubameyang in one season
Then we have to accept next season trophyless again
I’m a reasonable fan. But after two second places Arteta is running out of time, its a cutthroat job in cutthroat industry. There is no time to be bringing in a young striker, Eddie was that project. Jesus misses every other chance and even in the Euros Havertz didn’t take some great chances with conviction. City are a machine hunting their 5th title in a row. Lets be honest the biggest threat to their title tilt will probably be FFP sanctions, not Arsenal.
We are not going anywhere with Jesus and Havertz as our main strikers
Jesus does not score goals and Havertz will not get you more than 14-15 goals at best.
he did not score a single non-penalty goal at the euros despite having quality all around him
What people forgot is that Arsenal did go for a no.9 early in the window in Sesko but failed and that tells me they do see the need. It has gone quite for now, maybe it’s just that the type and the profile of a striker they’re looking for is not available in the market currently.
But I think both Jesus and Kai are very much capable of leading the line but honestly they both need to improve the finishing, it’s just average mostly.
not sure Jesus can improve his finishing at this stage
At 27 players do improve
Please name a former great or any striker of note that became a much better finisher after 27?
@Tun this is a very difficult question you want me to answer, you want me to be specific. I was just putting it out there that at 27 there’s still a room improvement.
But remember a certain Ian Wright didn’t grace the premier league up until age 26 if am not mistaken.
Also there’s a certain Dominic Solanke last season showed that one can improve at age 26.
You can never say never in football
Another one that comes to mind is Luca Toni
And remember most players peak at age 27
Harry Kane based on stats. He’s 31 this month.
If that is the case, then I don’t see Arsenal winning the PL in 2024-25. For a start, even if fully fit Jesus isn’t going to get 20+ goals a season and we all know by now that, unfortunately, he won’t be fully fit across the season.
I’m also not at all convinced about Havertz being the kind of “super striker” that Arsenal needs, the 20+ goals kind that, say, City obviously have (and then some) in Haaland.
Failure to win the PL next season will be a big disappointment to put it mildly. Should that happen how long will some of our key players stay without major silverware – the silverware that they would virtually be guaranteed winning at a few other clubs? Not a problem at the moment certainly, but a third consecutive season without the title … who knows?
Once again arsenal begin their penny pinching attitudes to transfers. I am utterly gutted that amadu onana is joining villa when he was the ideal replacement for partey to complement rice. Again toney is available, goykoyes is available, Watkins is available and yet arsenal are still dragging their behind. Same o same o next season. If debrune leaves city , pep has a replacement immediately. Thats what separates the commoners from the elites
i will probably be shouted down for this
Arsenal do not have a goal scoring problem in the PL
91 goals is the most Arsenal has ever scored in a PL season including legendary teams of the past
interestingly Arsenal scored those 91 goals on an xG of 84.39, we scored +6.61 goals more than the quality of chances, i.e. Arsenal were clinical in front of goal and more clinical than Man City’s +6.45
so what about strikers, like it or not all of Haarland, Watkins, Isak, Solanke and even Mo Salah under performed their xG – all the big names strikers in the PL 2023/24 were not as clinical as Arsenal
i agree we could use an addition goal scoring option this window, Sesko seemed perfect
but i can see why Edu/Arteta are perhaps not as desperate for a striker as parts of the fan base
Completely agree – my one reservation is that we did rely heavily on goals from set pieces, and that seems undesirable. It might be the reason we exceeded our xG tbh, and I’m not convinced we can expect that to carry into next season.
Personally, I’d like us to be looking for another goal threat, but that doesn’t need to be a CF. Esr could have been that player if he could stay fit, but an AM like that (eg Eze) might be the ticket
incorrect our 91 goals is skewed by our high scoring run in Jan. Games against Aston Villa, West Ham, Fulham & Bayern show that we’re missing a clinical striker. That was the difference between winning and not winning last season.
You can present all the stats you want. All we had to do was score and win against either West Ham or Villa or even Fulham and we would have won the league. That’s comes down to not having a clinical striker when the team is not performing well.
Haaland proved this and City have won two league titles on the bounce mainly due to having the necessary team and elite goal scorer.
incorrect
Man C won 4 of their 6 PL dominating titles without Haarland, or indeed any elite goal scorer
apologies for the inconvenient facts but Haarland scored 27 goals to his expected 31.7 goals
@Tun proves absolutely nothing, the exact opposite
“stats all you want, all we have to do is win 38 games out 38 games”, invaluable insight, thanks for that
my favourite “skewed by our high scoring run in Jan”
Arsenal are entering the 2024/25 season with the absolutely outstanding team and system that delivered 13 wins, 1 draw (Man C away) and 1 loss, so skewed by our settled starting XI in 2024 calendar thar was outstanding and if repeated for 38 games will break every record ever
Arsenal are in fantastic shape leaving the PL 2023/24 season and the strategic signing of Calafiori to unlock the underperformance of the left side is a masterstroke
simpletons can only conceive strikers as scoring goals, Arteta/Edu have been clear Arsenal blueprint is goals from everywhere which is impossible to defend, addressing our underperforming goal threat from the left is far more effective than “yeah, we a new striker, yeah, bang’em in”
So signing a player in a position that even simpleton fans could see was needed for over 2 seasons is now regarded as a masterstroke,keep em coming bud 🤯
Great reply bud .
@Arsenal1886.
You are wasting your time trying to reason with some.. They have convinced themselves that it’s a clinical striker that was the problem last season. And nothing else will change their “Tunnel Vision”. Can’t convince them that it might have been our Defense, midfield or anything else.
It’s a clinical striker but they keep referring to the likes of Watkins, Tony etc. These guys played as striker for 38 games while Havertz was only played as a striker in second half of the season. And he scored more or was not too far behind them for goals scored at the end of the season. Watkins scored 19 goals having played in the strikers position for 37 games. Havertz only started playing as a striker from January and scored 13 goals. Darwin Nunez scored 11 goals. Jackson scored 14 goals. Richarlison 11 goals. Etc.
Halaand was the top scorer with 27 goals followed by Palmer in second with 22 goals. So any clinical striker has to out score Halaand and Palmer.
Where are we going to get that clinical striker to score 28 goals and up a season so that we can leapfrog City? Definitely the likes of Watkins,Tony etc are not going to out score Halaand. So what do we do then? 😊
Arsenal1886
No you’re I correct I’m pretty sure Man City had a striker named Segio Argeuro before Haaland who was a world class goa scorer. Man City played only TWO seasons without an elite striker in which they won the league – 20/21 & 21/22. 21/22 KDB scored 15 league goals and was top 6 goal scorers in the league.
Yes XG is a modern day hipster stat that didn’t mean anything until recently.
Clearly you had issues comprehending my point about the teams we could have used an elite striker. I said we needed to win ONE game out of those to win the league.
You do realise we’re entering 24/25 season with multiple key players not having a full preseason or rest due to international competitions. Keeping up such a record with our starting fixtures is slightly delusional despite our current squad prowess. So yeah please rethink that one.
In your own words simpletons can only conceive the sense in signing a defender first when defence was one of our strongest points last season.
No one said don’t sign a winger but the clear issue was finishing chances last season at times and pretty sure even simpletons can see the correlation between finishing goals and strikers with good finishing ability
The games you stated show we need replacement / substitutes for Saka and Ødegaard. They were almost awful in those games…
It depends on how much faith is properly placed in the determination of xG.
Once again arsenal begin their penny pinching attitudes to transfers. I am utterly gutted that amadu onana is joining villa when he was the ideal replacement for partey to complement rice. Again toney is available, goygoyes is available, Watkins is available and yet arsenal are still dragging their behind. Same o same o next season. If debrune leaves city , pep has a replacement immediately. That’s what separates the commoners from the elites
Arsenal have been slow in market, and adding a proven striker is of important to us since Nketiah is going.
John Bribbey is a player we should sign to replace Nketiah. Surprisingly we allow Amadou Onana to join Villa who is a good replacement for Party is is rumoured to depart. Eberechi Eze is a good addition too….a very good attacking midfielder.
Well, if we keep Haverz and Jesus as our main striker, accept we wont win the league again. Haverz is an excellent back up, but he is no striker, or at least as or no9. And Jesus is not a striker and isn’t reliable. We are and have been actively looking for a “striker” so obviously Arteta and Edu, think the same. Lets hope we find one.
I am completely with Arteta, Edu and the club’s hierarchy bosses concerned with signings this summer. If Arsenal does sign Marc Guehi this window.
For, surely Arsenal still need to do a new ccentreback signing of Guehi’s top class quality this summer . Which they can achieve by doing a player plus cash deal to sign him from Crystal Palace.
The signing of Ricardo Calafiori I think is principally for the left back position even as he can play as CB.
So therefore, Arsenal needs to sign Guehi if possible so as to guaranteed regular availability and top options at centr- back position.
As for the signings of a new right winger and striker all of top class grade quality this summer. I believe that Arsenal will do all these two signings before the transfer window closes. So, let us wait to see what happens next after Calafiori’s deal is done.
Arsenal’s defense has faced the most injury challenges this season, with key players like Tomiyasu, Partey, and Timber all affected. Fortunately, our attack has remained largely injury-free, except for Jesus. It’s unrealistic to expect Saliba to maintain his fitness levels from last season, so I understand why we’re prioritizing our defense. It’s not just about improving defensively compared to last season, but also maintaining our performance levels even if crucial players get injured.
I’m confident we’ll see some offensive signings, but addressing our defensive needs first is crucial, and I’m glad Arsenal is making it a priority.
We will definitely see some offensive signings that I am sure of, but I think defense must be addressed first and I’m glad Arsenal are doing that as a priority.
I mistakenly repeated the same statement twice, but perhaps it needed to be repeated.
We might need a striker but am tired of pple saying we miss out on Onana. Onana can never be a Partey and he’s not in Partey’s league. He cant control games like Partey, Rodri or Jogi did. He has no long nor short passes. He’s powerful but poor technique. So tell me why are pple crying over Onana. If he’s that good why go to Aston Villa.
It happens every season. There is always one or two players that our fans will meltdown over.
Example; Buendia, Bissouma, Richarlison, Aouar, etc..
Then Arteta signs Havertz and we all start complaining about him being overpriced and overpaid. But he then outperforms all those names I mentioned. I can come up with a list of fans favourites potential signings that did not materialise and got our fans beyond themselves.
Not sure what all the cry-babies are whining about here.
We banged in a lot of goals, and a lot of beautiful goals last season at that. A good striker would be a good addition, but the priority is to replace Xhaka and Partey to make sure we have a dominant midfield, and to get someone who can cover for Saliba if he is injured.
This is the insane entitlement of Arsenal fans – that some want Arteta out despite two second place finishes in a row and obvious progress. Reminds me of when the toxic fanbase were flying “Wenger Out” banners over the stadium halfway through the season when we were literally in first place. When fans put themselves ahead of the club and are willing to sow discord and undermine solidarity, they do nothing but drag the club down.
Spending huge sums and changing managers every year does not guarantee success. One only needs to look at Man U and Chelsea to see that.
What stadium would that be Stephan Luc Larose, as it sure as hell wasn’t the Emirates stadium ?
Yet Man Utd and Chelsea have been successful
Bait or truth ?
Nice try.
If we’re not getting a new striker, and Eddie is offskie then why not promote Obi-Martin to the first team instead of letting him leave for Man Utd as is being suggested.
We’ve got over a month yet until the transfer window closes on 30th August, it’s not even the 30th July yet! We have a history of always doing deals late and I’d put money on a striker coming in before the end of August.
You may be right. They do like to surprise us. Tomiyasu who?
Arsenal1886
No you’re I correct I’m pretty sure Man City had a striker named Segio Argeuro before Haaland who was a world class goa scorer. Man City played only TWO seasons without an elite striker in which they won the league – 20/21 & 21/22. 21/22 KDB scored 15 league goals and was top 6 goal scorers in the league.
Yes XG is a modern day hipster stat that didn’t mean anything until recently.
Clearly you had issues comprehending my point about the teams we could have used an elite striker. I said we needed to win ONE game out of those to win the league.
You do realise we’re entering 24/25 season with multiple key players not having a full preseason or rest due to international competitions. Keeping up such a record with our starting fixtures is slightly delusional despite our current squad prowess. So yeah please rethink that one.
In your own words simpletons can only conceive the sense in signing a defender first when defence was one of our strongest points last season.
No one said don’t sign a winger but the clear issue was finishing chances last season at times and pretty sure even simpletons can see the correlation between finishing goals and strikers with good finishing ability
About your last paragraph, you could argue that chances don’t have to be scored by strikers. Anyone can score goals. I agree that Arsenal need to be more clinical but there are many ways of doing that.
For example,many believe Martinelli to be our best finisher. Getting this player back to his best is key. The club is definitely addressing that going by the addition of Calafiori.An in form Martinelli probably helps us win some of those games vs Villa,Fulham and West Ham.
There have also been rumours about wingers. That’s another way of addressing the issues we have when facing mid blocks like Villa. A goal scoring midfielder would add a different dimension as well,arriving late in the box to finish chances like Odegaard does.
I’m not saying we absolutely don’t need a striker. I’m saying there are many creative ways of improving our efficiency in front of goal. Most fans have this tunnel vision that only a Centre forward solves this problem unfortunately.
Finally, the market doesn’t seem to have these Haaland-esque strikers people want. Top proven strikers like Isaak are unavailable. The available strikers like Gyokeres all come with varying levels of risk or unreasonable prices. If the striker market isn’t great,we should be looking to add goals and creativity from the defence,midfield and wide areas.
“Man City played only TWO seasons without an elite striker in which they won the league – 20/21 & 21/22. 21/22 KDB scored 15 league goals and was top 6 goal scorers in the league.”
What more evidence do you need that you don’t need an elite striker to win the league? Also in 19/20 Liverpool won it with firmino as their main striker with 9 goals.
You also have Chelsea in 04/05 when their top scorer was lampard with 13 goals and in 05/06 when their top scorer was lampard with 16 goals. Drogba was great but he wasn’t scoring big numbers back then.
This past season our top scorer was saka with 16 goals… I’m not saying it’s the norm, but clearly it’s possible to win the league without an “elite” striker
@Davi
That proves the opposite as it’s not the norm across the past PL league winners.
Liverpool won with two wingers that can be considered elite strikers based on their scoring rates that season. Our wingers have not hit the heights of either wingers in Liverpool’s title winning season. Not saying they can’t but they’re not there atm.
Also what you seem to ignore about the those City teams and Chelsea 04 team is that they had managers that played near flawless systems. One of those managers is still active and thriving and will continue to improve. Why are we refusing the chance to match their ability in having an elite finisher.
Either way time will tell but we’ve seen on many occasions that not having an elite finisher has cost us. What fired us to us last trophy? team goals or the individual brilliance of the elite finisher (at the time) Aubameyang?
I do not even think Jesus is a striker.
I’d trade that guy for Nketiah.
For real.
If we get 15 goals from harvert, 15 goals from martinelli, 15 goals from trossard, 15 goals from ordegard, 15 goals from Jesus, 15 goals from saka and 15 goals from either viera or rice; that will be a total of 105 goals, that no single striker will produce.
Adding a new striker depends on Nkethia leaving or not, of which talk is ongoing.
In midfield, I believe someone will join. And if not, there’s at least a great season left in both partey and jorginho.
Defense was our strong hold last season and am not surprised the club decided to strengthen further.
With the business done so far and with the a available players; I don’t see any weakness in the team, compare to last season. The only doubt is the fitness of the likes of party, viera, Jesus, Smith Rowe and tomiyasu for most part of the season.
If Mikel Arteta and Edu believe they can manage the fitness and availability of the current players; or can adjust tactics, to couple with anyone injured, so be it.
To me, Jesus and Martinelli underperforming is what cost us the league. If they had stepped up like others in the team we would have won the title in my opinion. Our left side needs to be better it’s crucial
I think we can win trophies even without buying a striker.
If we can balance our midfield with d right players e.g odegard, rice nd timber in midfield. I think our midfield would be very difficult to break.
Are you kidding me!
The major reason we didn’t win the league the last two seasons was basically because of indept in that position. If we are to be superior than others and sincerely want to win anything this coming season we need to step up in all positions, not only in strikers position. And to be candid, i think Jesus should be sold