Sam Oliver
After the opening day debacle against Aston Villa, few would have expected Arsenal to be challenging for the title, and at the time of writing, top of the Premier League. The incredible surge in form is put down by many largely to the arrival of Mesut Özil; the playmaker has undoubtedly massively benefitted Arsenal from his arrival on deadline day, contributing 4 goals and 8 assists in the Premier League thus far.
The defence appeared to flourish at the tail end of last season, conceding only 5 goals in the final 10 games of the season. I believe this is down a few things; firstly, dropping Wojiech Szczesny proved to be a masterstroke, as not only was Lukasz Fabianski a more than capable deputy, it also appeared to raise Szczesny’s game at the start of this season, with the Pole having kept 11 clean sheets already this season. Secondly, the consistency in the centre of defence has proved invaluable, with Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker seeming to complement each other superbly. Koscielny is the athlete, who can win the ball high up the pitch, rarely giving opposition strikers enough space to be efficient with; he’s also, in my view, one of the best defenders in the world when defending a player one on one. Mertesacker is less athletic, but more organisational; a colossus in the air and very elegant on the ball, he more than makes up for his lack of speed with his superb anticipation. With the once shaky defence now well and truly sorted and keeping more clean sheets than anyone else, and the occasional problems of creativity gone with the introduction of Mesut Özil, one must ask how do Arsenal improve further, to truly re-establish themselves as one of Europe’s elite?
Unfortunately for Olivier Giroud, the answer seems clear. Arsenal’s striker is their weak point, and this is something that has been highlighted frequently this season. Just to be clear, I do like Giroud and his style of play; his hold up play is often superb, his defensive contribution is very important from set pieces, and he is a far better finisher than some suggest (Giroud is currently the 6th highest scorer in the Premier League). Having said that, he must be improved upon; in the simplest terms, Giroud is a good striker, not a great one, and to take the next step required, Arsenal need an upgrade, or least someone to seriously compete with Giroud. Lukas Podolski has been tried there, and his movement and hold up play were virtually non-existent. Theo Walcott’s movement is better than Podolski’s but his hold up play is even worse, meaning he is an unlikely candidate to play striker for Arsenal in the current system. Wenger tried to offload Bendtner in summer, and whilst Yaya Sanogo may turn out to be a good player, he is currently injured and does not look ready for first team football. Whilst I think Wenger was correct to not sign a striker in January, as the quality of striker available was not of the highest, I feel it important that he makes a move in the summer for someone to start regularly next season. I’ve suggested three potential signings below.
Adrián Ramos
Currently at Hertha Berlin, Ramos has been a revelation this season. He has hit the back of the net 12 times in the Bundesliga this season, and is an extremely well rounded player. His finishing is better than Giroud’s, although his link up play may not be as effective as the Frenchman’s. Ramos’s dribbling is superior to Giroud’s, making him a far less predictable player, and one who Wenger would be interested in. Probably the cheapest of the three options, it would be interesting to see how he would cope with the step up.
Diego Costa
Costa has been a machine in front of goal recently, scoring a sensational 20 goals in 22 games in La Liga this season. The eccentric centre forward finishes chances with ease and has probably been the stand out player from what has been a superb Atletico Madrid season, with them currently top of La Liga. His aerial ability is slightly overrated in my view, but what makes him stand out from the other potential targets is not only his goal scoring, but also his passing, often creating as well as scoring. Costa has announced he intends to play for Spain this year at the World Cup, and is sure to attract the attention of many other top clubs. With a release clause of £32 million, he’s expensive but he may well prove to be worth it over coming seasons.
Mario Mandzukic
With Robert’s Lewandowski’s transfer from Dortmund to Bayern Munich all but confirmed, one wonders what the future holds for the current main striker of the Bavarian club, Mario Mandzukic. It is unlikely the Croat will want to play second fiddle, and a move away from the current European Cup holders may well be on the cards. Mandzukic signed for Munich in 2012 after an impressive showing at the European Championships, and has 11 Bundesliga goals this season. One of the best forwards in the world aerially, his link up play, in the air or on the ground is generally excellent, making him seem a very viable upgrade on Olivier Giroud. Whether Bayern Munich would be willing to sell Mandzukic remains to be seen.
I would not like this piece to be seen as me slating Olivier Giroud; as I stated earlier, I believe he is a good striker, but I also believe that centre-forward is currently the weakest position in the squad. Following that logic, I would love to see one of the three strikers I have mentioned brought in, with Giroud kept in the capacity of a backup striker, giving Arsenal better options up front.
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