Arsenal have concluded their January business with the signing of two defensive players whilst in turn offloading four attackers, leaving them with three established natural centre forwards. So should Arsenal have signed a striker a January? In a word – no.
Throughout January the Gunners were linked with the likes of; the 21-year old Argentine striker Paulo Dybala of Italian side Palermo, Roma’s Italian striker Mattia Destro, who ended up signing for AC Milan on loan, and Edinson Cavani of French side Paris Saint-Germain. It seems every transfer window Arsenal are ‘closing in’ on signing the Uruguayan striker, whose future at PSG remains uncertain, but in reality Arsenal were never in for anyone, and there’s a valid reason for this; Arsene Wenger himself admitted that there’s sufficient competition in Arsenal’s attack this year. It’s a luxury the Gunners didn’t have last season, and so a welcomed selection headache for the manager to have this time around. It ensures that the squad doesn’t lack the firepower up top. However, there’s only so much firepower a team can afford to have.
Arsene Wenger let Lukas Podolski, Yaya Sanogo and Joel Campbell all go out on loan last month, in search of regular first team football; Sanogo and Campbell both left for Crystal Palace and Villarreal respectively to gain more first team experience, whilst Podolski just simply wasn’t getting the games under his belt he believed he deserved. For a player of the German’s experience and finishing ability, to struggle to get into the squad speaks volumes; it shows the increased quality the team has in the attack this year, now that we have Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck at our disposal.
Alexis Sanchez has rapidly become a fan favourite amongst the Arsenal faithful; the Chilean international has contributed 18 goals and 8 assists in all competitions already in his debut season, such a reward for his competitive desire and tireless work rate all over the pitch. His quality is too valuable to be left on the bench. He’s also proven that he can operate as a false number 9, with his movement on and off the ball allowing him to confidently take on, as well as intelligently deceive the defenders in front of him.
Welbeck‘s driving pace and power in Arsenal’s attack has also been made obvious as well, having found the net on 7 occasions this season, including a hat-trick against Galatasaray during the Champions league group stages in October – the first in his senior career. The young England striker has shown that he has a lot to prove as a centre forward and Wenger has given him the opportunity he wasn’t sufficiently offered, at Manchester United.
Then of course there’s Olivier Giroud, who’s gone from stride to stride in his 3 years at the club; the Frenchman netted 17 times his first season, 11 of those being scored in the league, not a terrible return, then last season he bettered his overall tally by 5 goals, including 16 in the league, and now after returning from a 3-month injury lay-off first sustained in August, he has picked up straight from where he left off with 7 league goals to his name, including goals against Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City. In the past, questions were asked of Giroud’s ability to contribute against the bigger sides in the league, but he silenced his critics in all three occasions this season.
As well as these established strikers, there is the young England u-21 striker, Chuba Akpom amongst our squad. The 19 year-old, who has been at the club for 13 years has made a name for himself in Arsenal’s youth academy, as a deadly and prolific striker and is now making inroads to break into the first team. Of course, there are a number of players ahead of him in the pecking order, but he is a promising young talent that many will feel, that the next couple of years will make or break his career at the Emirates. We saw promising glimpses of Akpom’s presence up front in his 20-minute cameo against Aston Villa on Sunday, and in the FA Cup away tie to Brighton the week before that. Although he’s yet to register a senior goal for Arsenal, his performances show that he’s a predatory striker in the making.
Despite Arsenal’s notorious injury record already this season, when you look at the quantity and talent in abundance the team has in Giroud, Welbeck, Sanchez, Walcott and Akpom, the arrival of another striker would’ve only added congestion to the squad, diminishing any aspirations the likes of Akpom, Sanogo and Campbell have of making it at Arsenal. The manager already has a midfield selection headache to contend with once Jack Wilshere returns from injury, so with keeping in mind the strikers we already have out loan, we should do well not to get greedy. The strength in depth amongst the Gunners’ attack this year is impressive enough, so don’t be surprised to not see any more strikers arriving in the summer.