NFL
By: Ty Reeves
Arsenal’s 2022 woes continue after the Gunners tied 0-0 against Burnley at the Emirates last weekend. To make matters worse for the team, top transfer target Dusan Vlahovic has all but signed with Juventus, staying in Italy after snubbing his move to Arsenal and the Premier League. These are just two minor things in a sea of bad for the Gunners, as Mikel Arteta and co. try to find their footing.
A horrible start
Arsenal has gotten off to one of their worst starts to the second half of a Premier League season. Since the year on the calendar changed, the Gunners have not won a game. Losing three and drawing two in that time span. Arsenal was knocked out of the FA Cup after losing 1-0 against Nottingham Forest. Then after holding Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at Anfield with only 10 men, the gunners would slip at home losing 2-0 to the Reds falling out of the Carabao Cup. After being eliminated from both competitions, Arsenal will not win any silverware this season, which means the teams attention will turn to finishing in the top four. The team has not finished in the top four of the Premier League since 2016.
Their once potent offense has all but disappeared as Arsenal has only scored one goal in 2022. Their disciplinary issues have also continued with midfielders Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka both receiving red cards. Xhaka saw straight red in the first half of the first leg against Liverpool after committing a desperation foul against Diogo Jota. Thomas Partey, who came on as a sub against Liverpool in the second leg, received a red after getting his first yellow card earlier on in the match. Since 2019, Arsenal has been given 14 red cards, more than any other Premier League team.
With the team going on a short international break, Mikel Arteta has decided to take the team to Dubai for training. However, one individual will not join the team. That individual being Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang. The striker returned to England after contracting Covid-19 away at the AFCON tournament. He returned back to England for more tests and health protocols and has been labeled as healthy and available. But similar to Ozil, Auba has been frozen out of the Arsenal squad. With this being said, it raises the question, will Aubameyang ever play again for Arsenal?
Regardless of Aubameyang’s situation, Arsenal are desperate for a striker. With Vlahovic looking more and more unlikely everyday and the transfer window coming to a close, Arteta and technical director Edu are on the hot seat to bring in some new signings before January 31st.
A look at the transfer window
Vlahovic is out of the picture, so who is next up on the list for Mikel Arteta. Some of those names being tossed around are Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Luka Jovic, and even Diego Costa. But the one name that has all Arsenal fans turning their heads is Alexander Isak.
Isak, the Sweden international, shined during the Euro 2020 tournament grabbing the attention of major clubs from across the world. A move to London would be difficult as Real Sociedad has slapped a $90 million price tag on the 22-year-old. This season in all competitions, Isak has tallied seven goals. The same amount of goals as Aubameyang. However, Isak is still young and says he models his game after Arsenal great Thierry Henry.
Another area the Gunners have been looking to bolster is in the midfield. With Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka’s inconsistent play, Arsenal have been linked with tons of midfielders. Renato Sanchez, Ruben Neves, and Douglas Luiz are all players that have been linked with a move to the Emirates. But the one player that seems to be the top target is Brazilian midfielder, Arthur Melo.
Arthur, who currently plays for Juventus, has been linked with Arsenal for the last couple of weeks. The reports are that Juventus are looking for an extended 18-month loan while Arsenal only wants him on a loan until the end of the season. The Brazilian international is keen on a move away from Juve as he’s fallen out of the squad under manager Massimiliano Allegri. With the deal being complicated it will probably come down to the deadline day before the Gunners decide to break the bank.
What’s next for Arsenal
As they continue to search for their first win of 2022, they will travel to square off against Wolves who have won four of their last five games. Then they will welcome newly-promoted Brentford to the Emirates as this will serve as a revenge game for Arsenal.
The Gunners under Arteta are known to be a second half of the season team. Let’s hope that this will continue to be the case this season.
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