Arsenal may just have their left-wing solution at home

Arsenal's priority this summer is clearly to sign a left winger, and you can't really blame them.

The Gunners have lacked an elite option in this position throughout Mikel Arteta's project, making do with functional but unspectacular players like Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard. This has mostly been fine in allowing Arteta's team to compete, but with such a glaring win-now window opening up for the North London club, they have to ensure they have all the best tools they can get hold of to take advantage of this winning opportunity.

That said, there is an argument to be made not to try to force something if it isn't there. Signing a left-winger you're unconvinced by for the sake of signing a left-winger isn't a sensible move that a well-run club would make.

Arsenal's left-wing dilemma

Vinicius Junior is no longer on the table, Bradley Barcola is too expensive, and all of the alternative options are deeply flawed. Rafael Leao is too much of a liability out of possession to play in an Arteta team, Nico Williams is injury-prone, Kenan Yildiz isn't for sale at any price, and Marcus Rashford's wages are astronomical.

Berta could go for a left-field option like Iliman Ndiaye or Antonio Nusa, but at that point, the Italian would be signing a left winger for the sake of it. There's no guarantee these aforementioned names actually provide you with an upgrade on Martinelli. In fact, there's a risk that they're all worse.

There is one star player on the market, Julian Alvarez, who would make Arsenal's attacking cohort significantly better as a collective. However, this would mean making do with what they have on the left, but maybe this is what they ought to do.

Arsenal have Eberechi Eze for the left-wing

When Arsenal signed Eberechi Eze last summer, many thought this was their answer to their left-wing woes. Ultimately, the England international was only able to play a handful of games on this flank due to recurring injuries to Martin Odegaard. Eze had to cover for the Norwegian, so it never became clear whether this was Arteta's plan from the outset.

However, there were signs towards the end of the season that Arteta wanted to use Eze in this role. When Odegaard was fit, the ex-Crystal Palace man started on the left away at the Etihad and at home to Newcastle. Given how the Spanish boss moved Trossard into more of a narrow role last term, it seems as though the tactician had constructed his team in a way to accommodate a left-sided number ten like Eze.

There is no reason why this couldn't be experimented with more in the upcoming season. While Eze may have lost some of his burst, which might hinder him when receiving the ball on the touchline, as aforementioned, Arteta has altered his system in a way that means the left-winger isn't regularly stuck out wide.

Some may argue that using Eze off the left more frequently might leave Arsenal short centrally. However, alongside Odegaard, Arteta will still have Mikel Merino and Max Dowman (and even Ethan Nwaneri if he stays) as advanced midfield options. Merino won't be needed as frequently deeper on the pitch after the signing of Bruno Guimaraes, while this move for Eze might actually open more opportunities for Nwaneri, who is currently struggling to find a place in Arteta's team.

Crucially, however, if the idea is to use Eze on the left because Alvarez is joining the club, the Argentine would likely form a front two with Kai Havertz quite frequently. This would negate the need for as many number tens.

Ultimately, signing Alvarez and changing Eze's role in the squad is sensible squad-building, and arguably makes more sense than splashing an outlandish amount on an unconvincing out-and-out winger. A mix of Eze, Christos Tzolis and Gabriel Martinelli on the left, with the additions of Guimaraes and Alvarez, makes Arsenal a whole lot better.

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