I’m fascinated to see who, if anyone, Arsenal will bring in to bolster their attacking options before the deadline. If you had told me at the end of last season that they would sell Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus, I would have imagined they were bringing in at least two really big hitters. After all, Mikel Arteta was talking about higher calibre players who would “take this club to a different level”.
So far, their only attacking reinforcement has been the signing of Christos Tzolis, who, for all his obvious promise, found it tough going at Aston Villa on Monday night. They considered Lyon’s exciting 21-year-old winger Malick Fofana, but he is heading to Sunderland, as revealed by David Ornstein in the last hour.
It’s something I wrote about in detail before the season began. Arsenal were entirely worthy champions last term and have started the new season with two wins out of two, but there is no doubt which area of their team has most room for improvement as they look to defend their title.
More is expected from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, if injury-free and firing on all cylinders, and Eberechi Eze and Victor Gyokeres, with a full season at Arsenal now behind them. But for such a formidable squad, their attacking options will look rather light unless sporting director Andrea Berta can conjure a deal from somewhere.
