Arsenal: 3 areas Mikel Arteta must find improvement to gain Champions League football

1. Spreading the goals around

Arsenal have scored 23 goals in all competitions under Arteta. On his own, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has seven of them, just under a third. Alexandre Lacazette has another three. They account for just short of half of the team’s goal.

Bearing in mind that Eddie Nketiah has started in Lacazette’s place in recent matches, Aubameyang has not played in the FA Cup whatsoever, three games that Arsenal scored five goals across and missed three matches — two of which were in the Premier League — through suspension, that is a massively concerning statistic.

Eddie Nketiah is the only other player to score more than twice. Sokratis is the joint-fourth-highest scorer. Mesut Ozil and Nicolas Pepe have three goals between them. Of course, having elite goalscorers is hugely important, but having a wide source of goals is invaluable, removing the dependence on one or two players.

Thus far, Arsenal have been almost entirely dependent on Aubameyang — and sometimes Lacazette. If they are to make an unlikely run into the Champions League qualification places, they will have to win almost every game. They cannot rely on Aubameyang to score in every match. It is time, then, to spread the goals around.