Arsenal lost their 100% record in the Premier League this season when they faced the defending Champions, Liverpool at Anfield on a Monday night kickoff.
It was a result that everyone expected, regardless of the achievements Mikel Arteta has accomplished for the gunners in such a short span of time. This fixture showed everyone about the difference of quality between the two sides and also highlights some major areas to be addressed for the Gunners if they have to be strong contenders for a place in the Champions League next season.
Almost everyone who watched the game knew that the gunners were “outgunned” in the midfield on basis of both quality as well as quantity. Added to this is that, Liverpool did not deploy their first choice midfielders, Jordan Henderson and new signing Thiago and still managed to get past a comparatively average Arsenal midfield. A robust midfield pair of Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny did not do anything particularly wrong in terms of performance, but the duo does not personify quality when compared to midfielders in other clubs. With the transfer window closing in less than a week, it is mandatory for Arsenal to get at least 1 if possible 2 quality midfielders to be considered serious amongst the other top 6 clubs.
Full credit to Mikel Arteta, who has drastically improved a leaky Arsenal side into a disciplined and strong unit. It is clearly visible that he has done his maximum to bring out the full potential of his current squad and cannot expect more from this squad against teams like Liverpool. This makes the upcoming week the most crucial one for the gunners which potentially is a season deciding week.
The coming week is not only crucial in terms of arrivals but also for potential departures from the club. Arsenal has been trying so hard to offload players who are evidently not in the plans of Mikel Arteta such as Sokratis, Sead Kolasinac, Shkodran Mustafi, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, and Mesut Ozil.
With all of the above mentioned rumored to leave to other clubs, there has been no solid interest for all the above-mentioned players with Lucas Torreira being the exception. The Uruguayan international has had major interest from Torino and Atletico Madrid, but neither on a permanent deal rather a loan.
Matteo Guendouzi, who was most certainly expected to leave the club for a decent fee, has not yet got a single offer from a club to acquire his services. This was an unexpected stumbling block for Arsenal because Guendouzi is considered to be amongst the valuable assets to be cashed in for which enables them to pursue their primary targets.
Houssem Aouar and Thomas Partey are undoubtedly Gunner’s priority targets in their midfield enforcements, and us Arsenal fans would know about their futures within a span of a week. Both the clubs involved in their respective players are notoriously stubborn when it comes to negotiations, which was clearly visible when Lyon’s CEO Jean-Michel Aulas has come out in twitter to mention the fact that the gunners were far off from the valuation for Auoar and he would stay at Lyon for the season
Transferts : Houssem Aouar (OL) d’accord avec Arsenal – @OL :il y aura très peu de départs: pour Houssem Arsenal est bcp trop éloigné de sa valeur: on compte sur lui pour faire un grand match à Lorient et mener l’OL en CL l’année prochaine 👍 https://t.co/8SUKIHLcLJ
— Jean-Michel AULAS (@JM_Aulas) September 26, 2020
The defeat to Liverpool is just a start to a very busy week for Mikel Arteta and co, where he will have to make sure that the Gunners progress in the Carabao Cup, when they face Liverpool in Anfield again (sigh), they offload the players as soon as possible and bring in their midfield targets where it can be either or both of Auoar and Partey.
Buckle up Gooners, this is going to be a rollercoaster of a week for Arsenal
