A couple of weeks ago Premier League fans were starting to believe Arsenal could possibly upset the apple cart and take the title ahead of Manchester United and Chelsea. Dutchman Robin van Persie was in the form of his life but an injury while on international duty ended his season prematurely, though he may yet return before the end of the campaign – but there are no guarantees. Gunners Captain Cesc Fabregas has now admitted his side could do with a different kind of striker up front.
He said: “We had a lot of similar players who like the ball into their feet. Sometimes it’s true that you need a different kind of option.”
Last season Arsenal had Emmanuel Adebayor operating in the traditional striker’s role. Nicklas Bendtner is probably their only true option in terms of a target man but for me he isn’t quite a top-player just yet, and in all honesty I’m not sure he ever will be (but that is a different matter altogether). Following Arsenal’s defeat to Chelsea, Fabregas felt that the only real difference between the two sides was Blues striker Didier Drogba.
“Overall, I saw a Chelsea team that was normal but a team that has probably the best striker in the world,” noted Fabregas. “An average team that has the best striker in the world can always do something and Didier Drogba makes all the difference.
“We dominated for the first 40 minutes without creating too much. Maybe we didn’t have someone whose game is to go beyond defenders, and we were a little small to fight them on crosses.”
On their day Arsenal can play anyone of the park and will cause any opposition problems. However, once they go a goal behind and the opposition gets bodies behind the ball they begin to struggle. A bigger man up-front would give them some added power and the option of a more direct style of play when chasing a game but this really is missing from their side. At Liverpool Fernando Torres or Dirk Kuyt can perform this kind of job, at Manchester United Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney are both capable of adding a bit of steel to the attack and Chelsea, of course, have the aforementioned Drogba.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has constantly stated he will not ‘panic buy’ in January but I feel he needs to take a risk somewhere. Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh and Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko have emerged as possibilities and a striker of that type would certainly add another dimension to the Gunners attack. As far as I’m concerned they need someone in January, they are after all just eight points off the top of the table (five if they win their game in hand) and a couple of decent acquisitions in the up-coming transfer window could get their campaign on track.
Written by Gareth Freeman, a sports writer promoting Fairyhouse tips and Irish racing.
