Having sold Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona without finding a replacement, Mikel Arteta is banking on his young squad to conjure up enough goals in the coming months to keep Arsenal in the mix for a top four finish.
On paper, it looks like a risky strategy. Goals from midfield have been in short supply in recent years and his two bona fide centre forwards – Alex Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah – have managed just four Premier League goals between them so far this season.
All the same, midfielder Martin Odegaard is confident his teammates can collectively step up to the mark.
Speaking to Premier League Productions ahead of Saturday’s clash with Brentford, the Norway international said: “I think it is the team’s job to make sure we score goals. It is not up to one or two players.
“I think everyone needs to help each other and create chances for each other, and help each other in front of the goal.
“I am sure we have the qualities in this team to score many goals. Of course, it’s an area we want to improve and we have to do a little bit better – but I am sure we have the quality in the team and the way we play. I am sure we will create chances, so I don’t see it as a problem.”
To date, Messrs Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli – the quartet who tend to support whoever leads the line – have 22 goals in the league between them. It’s not bad, but there’s definitely room for improvement.
Heading into tomorrow’s clash with the Bees, Arsenal sit sixth in the Premier League table but have three games in hand on both Manchester United and West Ham, the two sides above us in the table. Out of the domestic cup competitions and with no continental distractions, Odegaard is aware that every one of the 16 remaining fixtures is vital.
“I think all the games are crucial,” he said. “In this League, every game is tough. There are no easy games in this League.
“I think every game is crucial and we want to fight for the top four obviously. We are going to try to win every game.
“We will play each game as a cup final, every game is so important now.”
yay! LFG Arsenal! 🙂
“… the lack of goals might be.”
Or… “Goals won’t be a problem. We almost never concede them.”
Come on Martin, 16 Cup finals starting with 3pts against Brentford please, let’s go and fucking TAKE top 4. Nobody wants us to do it, pundits, the media, the FA…
LET’S FUCKING GO AND DO IT!!!
Laca and Nketia don’t have 4 goals between them in the league but it’s not like Auba had 5 goals either. Matter of fact we look to be scoring with ease compared to the set up with Aubameyang as our number nine but in general we’ve struggled for goals during Arteta’s reign
Seem more defensively sound but. If you keep a clean sheet than your point in the bank atleast.
No doubt we need to get a 20+ goal a season striker. Arsenal have always had one and that will make a huge difference.
Arteta has always been solid defensively and lacked goals. If he gets a 20 league goals striker he will be competing for the title.
If we want to have a 20 goal a season striker at this club, we first have to start creating quality chances for that striker. If your top forwards on average score 40% of their big chances. We’d have to be creating a minimum of 40 big chances for that striker to even have a shot at reaching 20 goals.
Under Arteta, we haven’t even created half of that for any forward in any of his seasons here. Unless we find this unicorn striker with a 90% conversion rate, goalscoring will always be an issue until Mikel switches things up.
Ok so I’m going to have a bit of an optimistic estimation here. I think we probably need to score an average of around 2 goals a game. And even that may be a little high. So let’s say 30 goals. So… Laca – 6 Saka – 5 Martinelli – 5 Emile Smith Rowe – 4 Odegaard – 3 Xhaka – 2 Pepe – 2 Gabriel – 1 Partey – 1 Nketiah – 1 And that’s the 30. Not too much to ask from anyone and not too much in the realms of fantasy. We can do it. I really… Read more »
Xhaka has scored 2 goals in his past 77 Premier League games. I think him equaling that total in his next 16 is a bit of a tall order.
Martinelli up front. I am sure thats where his future lies. We need to get Pepe back in the mix too he knows where the net is.
Disagree on Martinelli (keep him on the wing). Agree about Pepe.
A lot of comments from Odegaard lately… future captain?
Agree on Martenelli, him and Saka stretching teams with skill and pace was key to our glut of goals in December.
He’s been Norway captain a while, which is impressive at his age (no, Norway’s squad is not like Spain or Germany–but it still tells you something about the dressing room). He seems willing to speak up to referees, without getting too heated. His English is obviously fine. So, a candidate along with several others. Which is really good.
Arteta doesn’t seem to think so.
I find his treatment of Pepe counter-productive.
Freezing him out of the team completely will not help our cause.
We’ll need all the goals we can get in the remaining 16 games, and I’d bet on Pepe delivering more than Nketiah.
There were games I expected Arteta to bring him in but he was overlooked.
Arteta’s modus operandi seems to be frustrating the players he doesn’t want out of the club.
Gareth Bale is still playing for Madrid!
Zidane wanted Gareth Bale out. He had an agreement with a chinese club. Madrid got a lot of players injured and what did they do? They kept him.
Us, we have “orgulloso” Dicteta.
Who you playing Pepe instead of? Dropping Saka are we? Martinelli? ESR?
You know…the consistent players?
Pepe has had what he deserves. 0.
And yet he will get chances this season. It’s up to him to take them and be better.
Agree with martinelli but Pepe is a busted flush he will be gone in the summer regardless of how the rest of the season goes for him.
Tell it to Arteta.
Here’s our captain for next season.
The task ahead of us is simple: ensure that we our points per game ratio is equal with United, West Ham and Spurs, and we are home and dry.
If recent matches have shown us anything, these teams will drop points along the way.
By next Thursday, we could be 9 points ahead of Spurs if they lose to City and we beat Brentford and Wolves.
He needs to ping off more shots from outside the box, we’ve seen his ability to score from range. His timing of runs into the box for short range finishes has been evident as well.
I think Martin has the quality to become a stealthy goal scorer himself. Maybe 8-10 per season or even better? He has come quite close a few times this season and been unlucky to add to his tally.
Goals won’t be a problem, but will Storm Eunice?
Pepe has only started 5 games this season.. ND those games were pretty much wen we had our bad start to the season. Auba, Saka , martineli payed part ND were poor too. So so I find it really had to comprehend why pepe is the only one out of the bunch to haven’t started any of the next 20 something games we ve played since then.. We need goals now ND arteta seems to prefer nketiah who pepe is better than in every aspect of football I can think of. Pepe hs suffered enough at the hands of arteta… Read more »
Pepe has immense technical skills, but his mental stats are just 0. It seems he is incapable of understanding tactics. Thus he becomes a liability for a demanding coach like MA, who need intelligent players for his shit.
Finally someone who understands Pepe..his tactical discipline is so zero I mean zero,I have never seen a player that doesn’t know positioning when on d field of play…yes he can score but he’s too one way can be easily predicted,in as much as I like his scoring ability,I fear his general state of play…I see arteta off loading him in d summer n am cool with that except he dramatically understands d football movements..
I don’t know why you’re getting downvotes, couldn’t have said it better myself. He’s just tactially inept, and Arteta knows this, hence why Pepe isn’t playing anymore. Fans will cry, but in the end it’s a good thing that 99% of Arsenal fans aren’t making decisions about who should be in the starting 11. These are most likely the same fans who’ve been hating on Arteta for the past month over the Aubameyang situation, despite Aubameyang being a huge problem for us in terms of lack of goals & poor discipline.
Granite Xhaka has been “a huge problem for us in terms of … poor discipline.”
Auba really hadn’t.
He wasn’t scoring, which was an issue, but don’t pretend he was a problem just because Mikel seems to think so.
This squad had never had an issue with showing up and performing when Auba was around.
Amen to that!
Why do I feel the club is trying to acquaint us with Odegaard as captain from next season? With the way he’s being asked to give the interviews, hmmm
Great choice, but I’ll prefer Holding with Partey and Odegaard as deputy.
Captain doesn’t always have to start. It’s a lot about the dressing room, I think.
but seriously, Odegaar is a playmaker and not an attacker or a forward.. we should lower the goal expectations when it comes to him. the dude is really trying in the midfield
If you told us at the start of the season that, on average, Saka, ESR, Martinelli and Odegaard would each score 10 goals over the season, we would have taken that in a heartbeat. That’s an incredibly impressive return from the positions they play in, especially when you consider their age. Add it a 15-20 goal striker, and another ball progressing midfielder to get them on the ball in the right spaces, and our attack is sorted.
Current points per game: Chelsea 1.96; Arsenal 1.77; Man United 1.72; West Ham 1.64; Spurs 1.64; Wolves 1.61.
Why haven’t we made Ode captain yet?