Arsenal legend Ian Wright has told coach Mikel Arteta the two positions the Gunners must sign an ‘X-Factor’ star after losing to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
European football is now off the schedule in north London after Joshua Kimmich sealed Der FCB’s 1-0 win this Wednesday. The midfielder burst away from Gabriel Martinelli to riffle his header past David Raya and give Bayern Munich a 3-2 win on aggregate in the quarter-final.
Arsenal produced a tame showing throughout the second half and Bukayo Saka wasted their late chance to equalise at Bayern Munich. The 22-year-old opted to take a quick free-kick on the edge of the area and wasted their following corner as Saka showed a lack of experience.
Ian Wright thinks Arsenal must sign a left-back and a midfielder
Saka was not the only Arsenal player to struggle to shine as Bayern Munich sat in and bided their time. Jorginho often struggled in the early exchanges to win the midfield battle. Declan Rice also struggled to control the engine room and Martin Odegaard did not unlock Der FCB.
Odegaard struggling to pick open Bayern Munich’s backline further ensured Saka, Martinelli and Kai Havertz laboured in Arsenal’s attack. The Gunners’ front three seldom threatened to test Manuel Neuer, with Martinelli’s most telling actions coming to help Takehiro Tomiyasu.
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Martinelli put in a real shift on the left flank to double up on Leroy Sane. But the 22-year-old was one of Arsenal’s many ineffective attackers after the break as Bayern Munich used all of their Champions League nous. Now, Wright urges Arsenal to react with two needed signings.
Arsenal crashed out of the Champions League with a whimper
Arsenal crashing out of the Champions League with a whimper at Bayern Munich convinces Wright that Arteta must now sign a left-back and a midfielder who can move the ball. While Tomiyasu largely kept Sane’s threat to a minimum, he struggled to offer an offensive threat.
“I just feel like we’re inexperienced and we’re just still short a couple of players,” Wright said on his Wrighty’s House podcast. “I think he’s got to do something about the left-back slot, about a real midfielder that can pass it forward, who can get forward and hit those shots.”
Wright added: “We need that X-Factor player. We need somebody who can come in who’s totally different from everything else. Somebody who you can think to yourself at least that he’s that special weapon.”
Arteta replaced Tomiyasu in the 86th minute at Bayern Munich as Arsenal introduced Eddie Nketiah in a desperate bid for a late equaliser. The 25-year-old left the pitch having offered a key pass, which even only carried an Expected Assists score of 0.02, per SofaScore data.
Similarly, Ben White penned an xA of 0.02 from right-back with the 26-year-old staying back and not attacking with Saka. But Rice (0.12), Jorginho (0.07), Odegaard (0.16), Saka (0.05), Martinelli (0.08) and Havertz (0.06) also all penned low xA scores among those who started.