Although it's easy to sit here and say that Arsenal must go and do something in the January window following the first defeat of the season, Mikel Arteta has a point when it comes to lacking ruthlessness in front of goal.
There's no doubt that this Arsenal team is filled with exciting and talented attacking options, from Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka to Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli. Still, there will be times when it really misses a game-changer and yesterday was one of them.
That's not to say the Gunners don't have one, every single player can have a positive influence in their own way of course, but one obvious area of concern is out wide following Nicolas Pepe's departure. Now, had Pepe still been here, would he have changed the outcome of yesterday's game? Probably not. However, that is part of the issue.
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For too long now, Arsenal have lacked the presence of someone who can comfortably take over from the regular starters, particularly Bukayo Saka, without the quality dropping considerably. Unfortunately, the answer will not always be Emile Smith Rowe or 19-year-old Marquinhos and if Arteta wants to compete against the big guns moving forward, he'll need to have reliable options that he can turn to in every position.
The defeat to Manchester United, who ultimately took their chances despite being second-best for most of the game, was perhaps the first time this season where we missed that extra goal threat within the team. Arsenal had 16 shots during the match but only managed to get three on target, one of which was their only goal.
Speaking at full-time, Arteta highlighted the difference between the two sides' end product. "In both boxes, there was a big difference. They had three big chances, they score three goals. We had chance after chance and didn't score enough goals," he said. "We haven’t won it because we lacked discipline in certain moments to defend certain actions, and we weren’t ruthless enough in their box," Arteta added.
On a different day, the score and result could have easily been different, but if you don't take your chances then the risk of coming away with nothing will always be there. Despite the concerns, it's something the club can potentially address in the new year. It's important to reiterate that Arsenal don't particularly need someone who will score all the goals, the sources are already there. What they need is someone who is only going to add to them.
Arteta hinted at this a week before the summer window closed, saying "we know where we are short and where we have to add more firepower." Who exactly the Spaniard and technical director Edu will turn to remains to be seen, though it will be games like the one at Old Trafford which will remind them that attacking reinforcements must be considered.
Wolves' Pedro Neto and Shakhtar Donetsk's Mykhaylo Mudryk are two of the frontrunners if reports are to be believed, with The Athletic claiming that an offer for the latter was thought to be in the pipeline before injuries to Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny changed plans at the last minute.
Another potential option could be Brighton & Hove Albion's Leandro Trossard, who has been in fine form in front of goal this season. Arsenal are believed to be long-term admirers of the Belgian having originally been linked with him prior to his move to the Seagulls. The 27-year-old is into the final twelve months of his contract and could be available for a reasonable price as a result.
£97m figure is a combination of all three players' values taken from reports and CIES Football Observatory.
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