By Danong and 1970s Gooner
This could be the fiercest Premier League title battle ever. So far, Manchester City leads the title charge with 23 points, followed by Liverpool with 22 points and Arsenal with 18 points.
Arsenal will need to be at their peak performance to turn things round and secure a strategic position in the title fight.
Aside from pulling off a winning run, the Gunners will need to be bold in the winter transfer window and weaponize their team with quality signings to gain all the "strength" and depth they need to sustain the Premier League title race.
Arsenal's attack is one area where they need to make significant improvements. It is no secret that the aim last summer was to improve the offence with high-quality players, such as a dynamic winger and a top striker.
However, that didn't go through. Arsenal were unable to sign any of their attacking targets and had to make a last-minute panic buy, bringing in Raheem Sterling on loan.
Sterling's experience and versatility should have revolutionised Arsenal's attack, but it hasnt materialised yet. Despite Areta giving him game time, the Englishman has failed to capitalise on it, raising the question: What will happen when Gabriel Martinelli and/or Bukayo Saka become unavailable?
Sterling's ability to replace them is uncertain and Gabriel Jesus, despite his technical skill, seems to be out of form with strong doubts if he can reclaim that form.
Leandro Trossard may be the best option for the wing, but his lack of intensity when filling in for Martinelli makes him less effective, suggesting he would be more dangerous in the inside channels. That's where he has been most successful and should be deployed.
That said, the idea of Arsenal buying a dynamic winger in the summer made sense. And most Arsenal fans wouldn't mind if the club resurrected their pursuit of a top winger this winter. But who do they go after?
Two candidates stand out : Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford and Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth.
The two PL stars are currently the most exciting wingers the Premier League has to offer and here's why they might be the ideal competition for Saka and Martinelli:
Mbeumo (age 25)
Some believed that replacing Ivan Toney would be challenging but Mbeumo has significantly stepped up to fill the void the Englishman left at the GTech Stadium. Indeed, Mbeumo consistently garnered attention with his performances;
Watching him, has always been evident that he is a skilled, explosive player with a keen eye for goal and he has the potential to improve further. This season, he has risen to new heights, and his stats have justified the hype surrounding him, as he has scored 8 goals in 9 PL games.
His versatility allows him to play in all areas of the attack and his Premier League experience should convince Arsenal to pay the £50 million valuation that is suggested as the asking price (Suprisingly Transfermarkt value him at £33.5m).
Semenyo (age 24)
His great technical ability and ambipedal nature make him a nuisance to Premier League defenders.
With the ball at his feet he is unplayable because he can move in any direction using body movements to confuse defenders before he deploys significant acceleration to move away from them.
Despite scoring 3 goals and providing an assist in 9 games, his influence is evident in Bournemouth's games and will be significantly magnified in an Arsenal team.
As brilliant as Semenyo is, he's flexible and can interchange between different styles; he can play either wing of a front three but also either side as a wingback.
He is also 1.85m and could easily play basketball with the rest of the Arsenal players!
Football Insider not long ago claimed he was available for between £40 and 50 million (Transfermarkt currently value him at £16.7m).
No doubt either Semenyo or Mbeumo has the potential to propel Arsenal to new heights. Despite this, the North Londoners possess the capacity to make a double move for the two Premier League wingers, who could also act as Kai Havertz's backups due to their versatility.
You may well ask how can the potential cost for these two players be financed?
Well, according to Transfermarkt this is what these Arsenal players could potentianly fetch in the market and according to Spotrac.com what they are currently earning:
Zinchenko £30m £7.8m p.a
Jesus £46m £13.8m p.a
Tierney £8.4m £5.7m p.a
Total: £84.4m £27.3m p.a
Given how overlooked a player like Oleksander Zinchenko is these days, Arteta implied in the last two games (before the Preston one) that he trusted Myles Lewis Skelly instead of him, implying that he has become irrelevant at the Emirates stadium and could therefore be sold.
So in the end, selling Kieran Tierney Zinchenko, as well as struggling Gabriel Jesus, might help Arsenal significantly boost its transfer budget this winter and well afford the salaries of these two exciting additions to its roster.
If this materialises the PL title race could well be Arsenal's to lose.
Imagine a scenario where we start Martinelli and Saka and in the 60th minute, Semenyo and Mbuemo come on to replace them.
That would be scary.
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