December 6th 2021 was the last time Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang played for Arsenal, he came on for 6 minutes in a 2-1 defeat at Everton.
Soon after that, he was banished from the club and his 4-year association with the club came to an end. Why is this relevant to Arsenal’s current season you might ask?
Well, Aubameyang is the last Arsenal player to score 30 goals in all competitions in a single season and 20 Premier League goals in a single season. In fact, until last season no Arsenal player had managed 20 goals in a single season.
This is not to say that Arteta was wrong to get rid of Aubameyang but his failure to adequately replace him is a huge failure on his part.
Aubameyang started life at Arsenal brilliantly scoring 10 goals in his first 14 games after arriving in January, his brief stint at the club peaked when he scored back-to-back braces in the FA Cup versus Manchester City and Chelsea to win Arsenal their 14th FA Cup and Mikel Arteta’s first piece of silverware as a manager.
However, the goals started to dry up and his indiscipline began to create tension between him and the Spaniard eventually, he was let go and joined Barcelona where his late-season flurry of goals secured Champions League football for the Catalans.
His replacements have failed to live up to expectations. Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz have been the men tasked with trying to reach the levels of the former Arsenal captain and they have failed woefully.
In all competitions, the former Arsenal captain scored 92 goals in 163 games or 143.1 90s, by comparison, Havertz has 26 goals in 79 games or 68.2 90s and Jesus has 26 goals in 96 games or 60.6 90s, combined that is 52 goals in 175 appearances or 128.8 90s.
This is not a perfect comparison as they have sometimes shared the pitch and so on but it underlines a simple fact they are nowhere near filling the gap they have been brought in to fill.
When we focus on the Premier League the Gabonese forward scored 68 goals from an xG of 61.8, whilst Havertz has managed 20 goals from 20.5, and Jesus 18 from 23.2 showing that even the chances they do get they are unable to take advantage of.
The blame ultimately lies with Mikel Arteta, he has been Arsenal’s head coach since December 2019 and has failed to sign a game-changing attacker, according to www.transfermarkt.com Arteta has signed 34 players including loans but you cannot name an attacker who has contributed regularly enough in front of goal to be a difference maker.
This is a huge issue when compared to previous Premier League managers past and present. Alex Ferguson had Cristiano Ronaldo, Andy Cole, and Wayne Rooney to name a few, Arsene Wenger signed Thierry Henry, Robin van Persie and the aforementioned Aubameyang, whilst contemporary managers Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have signed Erling Haaland and Mohammed Salah respectively.
This season might be another close miss for Arsenal but if Arteta fails to sign a player who will consistently score goals for this side, I am afraid that he will probably fall short once again.
I am of the opinion that the Spaniard has built a formidable side who are difficult to break down and control games very well but their lack of a clinical goal scorer and the fact that their chief creator Bukayo Saka has also been their chief goal scorer is a huge problem.
That goal scorer does not have to be a number 9, a goalscoring left winger could be the answer as well but Arsenal need a 20 Premier League goal player alongside Bukayo Saka or Arteta’s project will not reach the heights it deserves to reach.
