Arsenal forwards: Who stays and who is sold?

Where do we start with the attack? After a year in which the club finished eighth for the second season running, we saw Alexandre Lacazette being serviceable and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang severely underwhelm, all of which is before even mentioning Willian and the others.

The Gunners’ forward line was hit and miss all last season with Aubameyang in particular having a worryingly high fall from grace. After back-to-back seasons of 22 goals in the Premier League, the Gabonese striker just netted 15 times in all competitions last campaign.

So, with Arsenal’s problems defensively (that department has been tinkered with) and in the middle of the park, now we can add the attack to the long list of areas needed for improvement.

It’s top of the pile, let’s be honest. Arsenal don’t score enough goals, nor are they creative enough. For all the forward talent, their output is dreadful.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

Arsenal forwards: Who should stay and who should be sold in the transfer window with Edu and Arteta seeking further signings and departures

55 top-flight goals is atrocious for the hundreds of millions of pounds worth of footballers at the top end of the pitch.

To say the club is in crisis is not too far from the truth, and with both Lacazette and Aubameyang ‘unwell’ having missed the opening Premier League defeat, the pair are also set to be about against Chelsea.

These are slightly worrying times.

With less than two weeks to go in the summer transfer window and many forwards looking shaky at best, who stays and who goes? All coming with the usual ‘in an ideal world’ caveat, it isn’t all too tough to make these choices.

Keep 5 – Gabriel Martinelli, Nicolas Pepe, Folarin Balogun, Alexandre Lacazette, Bukayo Saka

Three of the five started against Brentford over in west London and all them were largely ineffective. Still, it was only one game.

When it comes to youngster Folarin Balogun, given it was his first-ever league start, nobody is getting too wound up about his disjointed display.

The 20-year-old played only five times for the Arsenal first-team last year, scoring twice in the Europa League. His quality is there for all to see but he needs to be given time, not be the main man to lead the line.

Then there is Martinelli, who deserves to start ahead of Willian, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, and Aubameyang if deployed out wide. His pace, willingness to harass, and his varied shooting ability make him a genuine star in the making. All he needs is a decent string of games to put together some of the form that he produced before his knee injury.

Nicolas Pepe had an improved season last year after an indifferent start to life in north London. However, one thing we have noticed is that when Pepe plays well, the right-back who accompanies him in the team constantly overlaps, providing an outnumber to allow the Ivorian to attack inside channels.

This is where Pepe is so dangerous and where most of his goals come from. Getting him playing in between full-back and centre-back is the route to unlocking his goal threat.

At this stage, Hector Bellerin and Calum Chambers do not provide much in terms of overlap due to Mikel Arteta’s tactical demands, but Cedric does, and he brought the best out of Pepe last season. It’s just a shame that Cedric can’t do much else…like, y’know, defend.

Now to Arsenal’s No.9, Alexandre Lacazette. How he has made it into the final year of his current deal without either moving on or signing a new deal is laughable. You could easily make the case for him to be in the ‘sell’ column with several reports suggesting Arsenal wants to offload both him and Aubameyang, but the fact is he offers more than what the Arsenal skipper does. Nonetheless, this is a mess that shouldn’t have reached this point.

If all was achievable, let him play down his contract and sell the captain.

Lacazette’s link-up play and ability to bring others into the game are crucial when you have players like Pepe, Saka, and Smith Rowe around him. Of all the options at the club it’s the 30-year-old who best suits the manager’s style.

All that aside, the attack needs improvement. Will it get it? That remains unclear.

Continued…

Sell 4 – Willian, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson

These four are pretty self-explanatory, although the fanbase could be divided on who should leave out of Aubameyang and Lacazette.

When it comes to Willian, however, everyone involved wants it to end; Willian himself; and Arteta who left him out for the Brentford match. The latter point being remarkable given he had a whole pre-season to prepare.

The fans also want Willian gone and looking at his output, it is easy to understand why.

In 37 games in all competitions, the Brazilian scored one goal, although did provide seven assists last term. The most in the squad! That goal output, however, is not what you want for someone who is on a seriously big wage.

The fact that Willian started over the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Nketiah, Nelson, Pepe and others while being so hopelessly out of form was baffling.

Arteta has had enough and wants to offload him. Whether he can or not is another thing entirely, but it is clear that his days in north London are numbered.

Then there is Arsenal’s captain. According to various reports the club is willing to offload the 32-year-old (not much of a revelation), and while some might think this is a huge mistake, the fact is he is on some serious money – £350k-per-week – is not getting any younger nor is he in good enough form to warrant selection. Captain or not, there have to be standards.

Having only signed a new whopping three-year deal last season, whether the club has time to move him on and sign a replacement remains to be seen. Yet one thing is for certain, his future is dangerously up in the air.

That brings us to Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah, two options who can’t thrust themselves into the starting XI either by hook or by crook. The pair could well be used as sweeteners in any potential deals Arsenal do between now and the end of the transfer window.

After an impressive pre-season, Nketiah is currently dealing with an ankle injury that could hamper the Gunners moving him on. With no new contract to come and less than 12 months left, he has to leave this window. No ifs, buts, or maybes.

As for Nelson, he showed flashes of brilliance last season when given the opportunity but with players like Saka, Pepe, Martinelli, and Emile Smith Rowe ahead of him, he is likely to only get substitute appearances in the league and the odd cup game in terms of minutes.

Joe Willock may not be the only exodus of Hale End this summer.