Arsenal misbranded their early transfer priorities!

Arsenal's 2024-25 season has been substantially over. Despite two games left, it doesn't matter to the overall process and will not completely fail unless there is an epic crash. This is another championship-free season for the Gunners. Last week, he was eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals and confirmed that the season was no more successful. Despite the hustle and bustle of the outside world, Mikel Arteta's coaching position is not the case, and the Emirates Stadium executives still clearly trust him - he rebuilt the team according to his own philosophy, and is currently the best form of the team since moving out of Highbury in 2006.

Core question: The leap from competitors to champions

The Arsenal team still has an unsolved question: Can they transform from competitors to champions? Even if there is a significant improvement in the European arena, is the decline this season an occasional or a trend at the beginning? What is needed to narrow the gap?

Arteta seems to have clarified the direction the team needs to improve and update, but early signs suggest that this direction may be incorrect.

Arteta's contradictory statement

The dilemma of lack of efficient scorers: When asked about the team's lack of recognized high-yield scorers, Arteta admitted: "When we created five expected goals but only scored 1 goal, it is normal for the outside world to question it. But we analyze the problem through more data and resources, but many people have a keen intuition about demand, and it is beneficial to listen to these opinions. I am very clear about what we need to do to increase the probability of winning."

The shortcomings in lineup depth: Before the match against Liverpool, Arteta admitted that the lineup at the beginning of the season was "super thin", and expected that some players were likely to be absent due to past injuries. He said: "We know that the depth of the lineup is the key to winning the championship, so Liverpool did a good job. We have never found a stable state due to injuries and other issues this season." Contradictory point: If we had known that the lineup was weak, Arsenal could have taken action instead of just explaining it afterwards. When they are in good health in 2022-2024, they also failed to seize the opportunity, and the responsibility for lineup construction should be attributed to the coaching staff.

Controversial direction of transfer operation

Midfielder and goalkeeper priority: Arsenal is close to signing Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi for £51 million to fill the vacancy of Jorginho's departure, which is an upgrade for the Italian veteran. In addition, the team has close contact with Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia (the transfer fee is about £30 million), but this signing is not an urgent matter with the existing top goalkeeper David Raya.

Defensive redundancy and striker lack: Negotiations with Bournemouth central defender Dean Huyson raise questions - If Real Madrid seeks to buy William Saliba, will Arsenal be willing to sell the core? More importantly, Arteta's roster lacks players to sell to raise funds, and if £80 million has been invested in midfield and goalkeeper positions, the budget for the striker will be extremely limited. Since Arteta took charge, Arsenal has only signed Gabriel Jesus as an orthodox striker (Ke Havertz was positioned as midfielder when he transferred). When Jesus was injured, Havertz, who changed to the No. 9 position, performed clumsy, while potential targets such as Alexander Isaac and Victor Jokic were being chased by multiple teams.

Data Warning: If Bukayo Saka has a qualified striker to respond in the penalty area, he could have contributed more assists. Although Arteta does not think that "buy a scorer = win the championship", it is an indisputable fact that missed signings in succession will lead to a lack of creativity, inspiration and accuracy on the offensive end.

lineup planning concerns

Trosad's contract renewal controversy: Arsenal is rumored to renew his contract with winger Leandro Trosad until 2029 (then the Belgian is 34 years old). Although he is still a useful player, his form has declined, and renewal is more like a stop loss for a low price in the future than a long-term plan.

Audrey's form is recovering: Captain Martin Odgau needs to recover his form in the new season - from a candidate for the best player at the beginning of the season to becoming a lack of hardness in the later stage, his performance fluctuations are a key issue that Arsenal has been overlooked this season.

The life-and-death qualitativeness of transfers this summer

Arsenal can no longer use "injury" or "run-in" as an excuse. Arteta admitted that the team needs to be more decisive on both offense and defense, but the spark on the offensive end can only be rekindled through signings. If you miss the top forward again, the risk of no championship next season will increase dramatically and the pressure on public opinion will be unbearable.

This is the most important summer transfer window of Arsenal's generation - the correct direction of signing is not to continue to pile up defense, but to find the ending fulcrum in the penalty area for Saka and Odega. Arteta's tactical philosophy needs more direct goal guarantee, otherwise the "champion puzzle" will always lack the most important piece.