Mikel Arteta has explained why he believes Arsenal’s forwards are on a poor run of goalscoring form at the moment.
Following Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at the weekend, there were plenty of questions raised about the Gunners’ ability to get goals from their forward players.
Despite the team netting twice, one goal came from United’s Lisandro Martinez, and the other from midfielder Mikel Merino.
Meanwhile a Sky Sports graphic went viral showing that Arsenal’s forwards are struggling for goals. Of the first-choice front three, Bukayo Saka has no goals in 13, Viktor Gyokeres has zero non-penalty goals in 11 Premier League matches, and Leandro Trossard has one goal in his last 11.
Things aren’t any better coming off the bench, with Gabriel Martinelli on a 13 game goalless run in the league, and Noni Madueke on a 25-game run.
Mikel Arteta was asked the question about those goalscoring statistics in his most recent press conference, and while he defended Arsenal’s scoring record in general, he admitted the forwards need to be more efficient.
“We want those numbers to be higher, but as well I think we are three goals away from the best team [overall],” Arteta said. “We want to be the best in every stat, but it’s very important that we can read the stats in a manner that is useful for us and especially for our players.
“It’s clear, every situation, every player is different. Obviously the level of efficiency that we showed in certain actions, it hasn’t helped to raise those numbers higher. Some others because we need to produce probably more for them as well.
“So it’s a combination of different factors. But it’s a positive way to look at it; even without this, look where we are. So we’re going to try to undo that and improve in that area and then the margin will be bigger.”
If Arsenal can indeed maintain their strong defensive record for the season so far, whilst also adding more goals at the other end, the team would certainly become the favourites for trophies come May.
The question is whether Arteta’s side can achieve that kind of offensive boost without making harmful sacrifices at the back. It’s always a balancing act, and it’s one the manager needs to get right.