Arsenal: 3 solutions to striker problem for rest of season

The issues and lack of depth at the striker position have been laid bare this season. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has now left Arsenal to join Barcelona.

Alexandre Lacazette does not have enough of a cutting edge in front of goal. Eddie Nketiah continues to show that he is not of the quality to play for Arsenal in high pressure matches against Premier League opposition. Three league goals combined this season for the current options speaks for itself.

Arsenal pursued several strikers in January and none of these avenues bore fruit. It is now clear that the club will wait until the summer to secure the striker as opposed to a striker.

While fans have already expressed their anguish at the club for waiting until the summer, they would likewise have criticised had the club spent foolishly on a mediocre signing. A lose-lose situation.

Arsenal: 3 solutions to striker struggles for rest of season as Arteta’s side push for the Premier League top four with just Lacazette and Nketiah

A loan deal for someone with a goalscoring touch wouldn’t have gone amiss, however.

Opting against buying anyone in January, let alone panic buying, leaves the goalscoring burden resting on the uninspiring centre-forwards who will both be out of contract in the summer. It is an almighty risk.

However, the fans’ clamor will be muted if Arteta were able to find an internal solution to the issues in the striker position. He has a paper thin squad to choose from, but there are options to lead the line for Arsenal should Lacazette or Nketiah either fail to deliver or fall foul to injury.

Here are three potential solutions from within the club.

1. Emile Smith Rowe as a False Nine

Part of what has excited Arsenal fans this season transcends the results of the past few months. What has instead caught the eye has been a clearer defined style of play combined with effective execution.

In defense, the right-back tucks into midfield or a back three to build up play; in midfield, one player shuttles horizontally across the line while the other plays a more box-to-box role; and in attack, the striker drops between the lines to receive the ball to act as central axis while the wide forwards drive towards goal.

Lacazette has completed the latter of those roles to varying degrees of success. At times, he drops too deep and lacks the pace to burst into the box after helping shift the ball across the pitch. When the system clicks, however, it is glorious. The home game against West Ham showed Lacazette at his finest. His assist for Martinelli arose out of the Frenchman’s intelligence off the ball to get into space before turning and making a penetrating pass.

The striker’s role as Arteta sees it, however, can be completed by other players in the squad. While the game against Villarreal last season was nothing short of disastrous, there is some sense to the strategy: Emile Smith Rowe boasts intelligence about spacing, perhaps even more than Lacazette, while having the physical capacity, and crucially stamina and fitness, to arrive in the box. We’ve seen him make perfectly-timed late runs into the 18-yard area and get himself into good scoring positions consistently this season.

Given the lack of convincing alternative options, it could be time to try out Smith Rowe as a false nine (yes, again). He has the technical security to operate in those zones as well as the desire to get on the end of chances and score.

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