What’s gone wrong at Arsenal and what do they need in this January’s transfer window?
After a lot of pre-season hype, we’ve not really seen the best of Arsenal at all in the first half of this season, with serious doubts now creeping in about whether or not the Gunners can truly challenge for the Premier League title.
Arsenal’s league position is far from the worst – while they’ll be disappointed to have dropped to fourth, they’re still only two points behind league leaders Liverpool, albeit with the Reds having a game in hand. No one else has looked particularly unbeatable, however, so that could still be some cause for optimism for Mikel Arteta’s side, even if there would appear to have been some decline since last season.
So, after back-to-back defeats against West Ham and Fulham, and just one win in five in the league, how bad is it for Arsenal, and what should they do about it in this month’s transfer window?
Too much change, too fast?
If Arsenal don’t look as good this season as they did last term, then one obvious thing to point out is that it’s quite a different team out there on the pitch.
Few can argue with the signing of Declan Rice, who has looked well worth every penny of his enormous transfer fee, but fans are perhaps now voicing legitimate complaints about some of Arteta’s other big decisions.
Firstly, selling Granit Xhaka after he was one of the stand-out performers in last season’s title-challenging side looks more baffling with every passing game. No one would say the Switzerland international had a consistently great Emirates Stadium career, but he really raised his game last term and looked a perfect fit for what Arteta was trying to do. He’s continued to look superb at his new club Bayer Leverkusen, and most Gooners would surely take him back in a heartbeat.
In his place is Kai Havertz,
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