“We have a bow and arrow, and if we aim exactly right, we can attack. It seems that Bayern have a bazooka, so the chances of them hitting are much higher. This was said by Jurgen Klopp in 2013 while he was coaching Borussia Dortmund. Klopp has taken up the challenge of pitting bow and arrow against bazooka once again as manager of a Liverpool team that has been Manchester City’s closest domestic rivals for the past four years.
However, Arsenal have taken over that mantle this season. Arsenal fans were feeling good about life going into an unprecedented mid-season break with a five-point lead at the top of the table. The odds remain so stacked in Manchester City’s favor that when the Gunners were five points clear with the win over Wolves, the Sky Sports Twitter account tweeted: “Title contenders Arsenal?”
It says everything about how lopsided the odds are in City’s favor that a team with a five-point lead at the top after 14 games is obviously not even a league title contender at this point. One of the things that Arsenal was always going to need to keep up their challenge was relatively clean health for their key players.
The news that Gabriel Jesus will be out for three months with a knee injury means they won’t understand. I think Arsenal fans can be forgiven for a case of “WHY GOD? cannot miraculously recover in three days).
Just last week, I wrote about how much Arsenal will need their players after the World Cup. In that article, I said of Eddie Nketiah: “Arsenal’s ‘A-Team’ is going to need Nketiah at some point, possibly in their next game. This time our eyes and expectations will be more in tune with Gabriel Jesus and stepping into his shoes will be a tougher challenge than dislodging Lacazette’s clunky Timberlands.”
How little did he know! The first thing to say is that, on the bright side, I feel a little better with Eddie Nketiah as a backup to Gabriel Jesus than I do with some of the backups from the other mainstays on the team. I’m still not sure who Bukayo Saka and Mohamed Elneny’s deputy to Thomas Partey is in the long run, I think, it would change things more drastically than Nketiah coming for Jesus.
The second thing to say is that we cannot and should not expect Eddie Nketiah to come along and do all the things that Gabriel Jesus does. Nketiah is a different player with different qualities and the team is going to have to adapt to them. Nketiah is a better finisher than Jesús, for example, he could score more goals than the Brazilian has. However, his overall influence on Arsenal’s approach game will probably not be the same.
All FBR data Ref and displayed by 90Gabriel Jesus 2022-23Eddie Nketiah 2021-22 Pass Attempts29,824.7 Assists0,370.11 18-yard Passes0,890.43 Progressive Passes1,851.18 Shot Creation Actions4,212.81 Dribbles Leading to a Shot0 .670.54 Tickets won 1,190.97 Touches 46,838.0
I’ve used Eddie’s data from last season as it represents his streak of A-Team starts and includes a good (still not entirely satisfactory) sample size. However, that’s still not a fully favorable framework for him, given that Arsenal are better off now than they were at the end of last season and Arsenal’s injury situation in the spring made him far less functional.
However, we can see that there will be a general reduction in influence with Eddie as the main striker. However, that is not the same as saying that he is a bad player. In fact, the one time he had an A-Team career he did very well, scoring five goals in eight starts. It’s a small sample and Arteta and Arsenal will have to hope it’s representative.
The manager can’t and won’t ask Nketiah to become a different player overnight, that’s not how it works. In Emile Smith Rowe, Arsenal are also introducing another player capable of scoring goals in attack as well. Nketiah’s overall contribution is good, it’s just that Gabriel Jesus completely ruins the curve when it comes to overall turnout.
The injury should add to the urgency of bringing another striker into the fold in January. As I wrote a few weeks ago, the team needed another striker anyway and I remain absolutely convinced that the plan was/is to recruit one. If this injury alters the target list, I’m not sure.
In essence, I think Arsenal are looking for their version of a Richarlison or a Diogo Jota. A striker who can play across the entire forward line without upsetting his balance. Arsenal secured Nketiah on a new contract just a few months ago, he would create trust issues with the player and within the squad if the club decided to replace him outright at the first sign of trouble.
And Jesus will return (40% of Americans believe sometime in the next 50 years), Arsenal need someone who can increase their striker options with and without the Brazilian. A multi-functional attacker would be the perfect solution, but there are few blue skies in January. The need for Arsenal does nothing to change the market.
What Arteta and Arsenal will have to do, meanwhile, is adapt and that means playing to Nketiah’s strengths, handing him the ball in dangerous areas while offsetting the dizzying amount of work Jesus puts in in deeper areas elsewhere. The good thing for Arsenal is that they have a run-up to this.
There are three friendlies to play before West Ham arrive at the Emirates on Boxing Day. Nketiah is not in the World Cup, he is fresh and very aware of the task that awaits him. Arsenal have time to cut through the cloth and the player himself will be, or at least should be, excited and enthusiastic about this challenge.
That he has yet to start a Premier League game this season will be a bone of contention for him. Eddie will be desperate to prove himself again and excited about the prospect of regular football over the next three months, his fitness permitting. I don’t think it’s fair to judge him by his Europa League performance this season as he wasn’t always surrounded by Arsenal’s five stars.
Caught between Saka and Martinelli and facing Odegaard, he scored five of eight in the spring and that’s the way everyone hopes he can repeat. Nobody can ask him to assume the form of Gabriel Jesus, as if the Brazilian is some kind of essence or shell of skin and bone that Eddie can assume in his absence, but he has qualities that Arsenal can use, it’s just a case of adjustment . muscle memory to use them.
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