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OM
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The Gunners have no out-and-out striker available for selection right now, no thanks to their injury crisis in attack. However, there are still other ways the North London side could solve this issue.
The Arsenal hierarchy knew they were short in attack after Gabriel Jesus suffered an injury in the FA Cup match against Manchester United in January.
This was after Bukayo Saka has already suffered a hamstring problem in December, with a potential return date set for March 2025.
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However, when the window opened, they opted against bringing in anyone, claiming they did not find the right fit. There were even speculations that Aston Villa offered the Gunners their lifelong fan Ollie Watkins, but both sides were wide apart in valuation, halting discussions.
As if the North London side were not already thin in attack, Gabriel Martinelli joined the list of injured attackers immediately after the window closed.
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To make matters worse, a Dubai trip meant to re-energise the team and prepare them for a rigorous run-in came with its own issues, as the ever-available Kai Havertz suffered a season-ending hamstring injury.
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With Arsenal’s first-choice front three out and both of the recognised number nines—Jesus and Havertz—on the list, Arteta must find creative solutions to his attack.
But before we see what he does, we have decided to come up with a number of ways we believe the Gunners can solve this dilemma.
How Arsenal can solve their striker issues
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The most obvious solution right now is to play one of the three fit attackers—Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling, and Ethan Nwaneri—as false nines.
This trio started together in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Girona on match day of the UEFA Champions League league phase, but Trossard played in the middle and Nwaneri finding the net.
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Of the three, playing centrally for the Gunners is not a strange one for the Belgian, who has done so several times.
Nwaneri is yet to take up this role, but the manager suggested the possibility long before the current injury crisis. “I think it’s [more about] when, I think it's in there as [a possibility] more than a necessity,” Mikel said when addressing the possibility of Nwaneri playing as a striker.
However, he expressed caution: “He’s been playing as an attacking midfielder and on the right wing, and I think it's been really good in that position, so that's fine.
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There is also a chatter among fans close to the team, claiming that the Gunners might have plans to play midfielder Mikel Merino in attack.
The Spaniard has not had the best of campaigns in his maiden season with Arsenal, but he found the net against Liverpool and Brentford, while he also possesses a strong aerial presence that could be useful in this situation.
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As rightly mentioned by Arteta, the only positive Arsenal could draw from this situation is the unpredicatability they now have in attack.
“There are certain things that we’re going to have to adapt, and it brings other opportunities because we’re going to have a different frontline of players that are very unpredictable, so good in 1-v-1s, very creative, very sharp. It’s going to give different headaches to the opposition,” he said.
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