Arsenal have been linked with every big name striker going this summer. From the ridiculous to the possible, Aubameyang, Ibrahimović, Lewandowski, Lacazette and Dzeko have all been tipped to steal the lone forward role from Giroud. This hasn’t been helped by Lord Harris’ comments saying Arsenal can buy any player they wish. However, if recent reports are to be believed it is a deal for Real Madrid man, Karim Benzema, which is most likely.
Giroud
Arsenal v Sunderland – what’s happened to our attack?
One win in our last five games. It’s a far cry from the eight game winning streak we were all celebrating just a few weeks ago. In that time we have only lost one game, although it is the performances that have been most disappointing. Against Swansea and Sunderland we controlled both matches, had a combined total of 51 shots, yet still failed to score a single goal. The draws against Chelsea and Man Utd can be considered good results, but after our record in 2015 and our fight for second place, it was disappointing not to win either. To be fair to our defence, in the five games mentioned we’ve kept two clean sheets and only conceded three goals. The problem in recent fixtures has been going forward. For the most part we have created chances but a failure to convert these has cost us points and second place. Rather than look at the Sunderland game in detail (it reads very similar to the Swansea match!), I’ve selected a handful of players and reviewed their recent performances.
Man Utd v Arsenal – just enough to secure what we needed
Lucky? Probably. Important? Definitely. A point at Old Trafford should be considered a good result. After the loss to Swansea, and with third still undecided it was just as important for us to stop a Man United win, as it was to earn ourselves a point. The stats below tell the story of our improved second half, but also a team that fell short against Man United, yet again.
Paulo Dybala – The striker in demand
Paulo Dybala. Unless you’ve avoided all transfer rumours for the past two months, you would have heard about Palermo’s latest striking sensation from South America. Following in the footsteps of Edinson Cavani and Javier Pastore, who both started their European careers at Palermo, Dybala is set to make a big money move this summer. Arsenal were one of the first clubs to be linked with him, and their outspoken chairman has confirmed we have submitted a bid, although it doesn’t meet their €50m valuation.
statisticallyarsenal 