[ad_1]
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta wants to sign two midfielders before the transfer window closes, and rightly so. The Gunners’ strength is noteworthy in putting together enough quality to outmaneuver an energetic West Ham team here at Emirates Stadium, but they won’t always be so lucky.
Hammers coach David Moyes regretted a string of second-half chances at 1-1 during a period in which the visitors were firmly on the rise having taken over midfield in a way that will alarm Arteta. Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka have been a very effective midfielder couple since the resumption of football, but the lack of depth in that position was exemplified by the presence of only Mohamed Elneny on the bench to alter a plan that was clearly not working. .
Elneny himself is in the midst of a surprising rebirth after spending last season on loan at Besiktas, while Matteo Guendouzi remains in exile for the day and Lucas Torreira approaches Italy. The club wants to seek deals for Thomas Partey of Atlético de Madrid and Houssem Aouar of Lyon, but no transfers are imminent and the sales are critical to fund both potential revenues. Arteta was understandably quick to defend Ceballos and Xhaka afterwards, but hinted at the possibility of new additions.
– Stream ESPN FC daily on ESPN + (US only)
– Predict results in English Soccer Pick ‘Em! From ESPN
– ESPN + Spectator Guide: Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, FA Cup and more
“[Ceballos and Xhaka] I’ve been really good since I joined the club and [Elneny], every time he played, he deserved to play again today but I just wanted to rotate, “said Arteta.” I thought it was a game where we were going to have to attack the spaces more and the way they defended, we wanted to create some situations with Dani there. But if we can strengthen the team, we will try to do it until the market is over, but everything is still open.
“Depending on what happens with some other players in the squad, we are open. The market may surprise us. It may come for one of our players in a different position and then we have to react, as happened with [Emiliano Martinez] (which was sold to Aston Villa this week for £ 20 million), so let’s see what happens. “
The need to complete that business is only underscored by what happened here, particularly after the first 45 minutes in which Alexandre Lacazette scored and Michail Antonio tied.
Featured
- Arteta feared Aubameyang would leave Arsenal, Pirlo at Juve, Lampard at Chelsea, Arteta at Arsenal: why so many top clubs are opting for former stars
2 Related
Arsenal are aiming to qualify for the Champions League this season, and to achieve that goal they cannot rely solely on the highly effective counter-attack approach that achieved its 14th FA Cup success last month. They will find teams as well organized as West Ham and others who will not miss so many promising situations with the game in the balance.
There were problems in other places. Kieran Tierney suffered a hip problem in the warm-up, forcing a late change with Sead Kolasinac drafted into defense. Not many expect Kolasinac to be at the club after the transfer window closes on October 5, with Bayer Leverkusen interested in bringing the 27-year-old back to Germany, but the issue is more complex than relying on a player with an uncertain future. .
Arteta’s tactical display has Arsenal in a 5-3-2 form without the ball, shifting to a back quarter in possession. That form relies heavily on the left back, usually Tierney, to understand the positional nuances with the fitness to change quickly when, in this case, Bukayo Saka, moves forward from the left back.
Mikel Arteta has shallow depth in midfield behind starters Granit Xhaka and Dani Ceballos. Stuart MacFarlane / Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Kolasinac is not in optimal fitness level and Arteta could be heard regularly yelling at “Kola” when Arsenal’s form looked suspicious. So it came as no surprise when the Hammers draw came from that side of the field, Ryan Fredericks overlapped to cross for Antonio to convert from close range.
Yet this was precisely the kind of game Arsenal would have lost to Arteta’s predecessor Unai Emery, and they deserve credit for their perseverance, conjuring up a winning goal against the game’s streak. Saka fed Ceballos a delicious pass and the latter squared the ball for backup Eddie Nketiah to score with four minutes remaining.
That winning-goal combination was a particularly poignant example of the unity Arteta has engendered as the pair clashed in a round-robin warm-up ahead of Saturday’s win at Fulham. Nketiah reacted to what he thought was too enthusiastic a challenge. Arteta claimed in his pre-match press conference that the matter had been relegated to history and it turned out.
“That’s the beauty of this sport, that they were in the spotlight last week because of something that happened between them that was a bit negative and then today they found a way to understand each other and create the winning goal,” said Arteta.
With Ceballos giving the decisive moment by breaking in from midfield, it could be assumed that the field area provides enough power and protection for this Arsenal team, but it shouldn’t mask what happened earlier. Thomas, capable of playing box-to-box midfielder, and Aouar, a graceful playmaker, would have been tempting options here, sharing the workload in the engine room during what will be an intense campaign.
Spending money is never a guaranteed panacea, but Arteta’s motives for the last fortnight of the window make perfect sense.
Source: espn.co.uk
[ad_2]