Those in the boardroom at Arsenal surely have a lot to say about Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League exit.
The Gunners seemed a little overawed by the magnitude of the occasion, especially Bukayo Saka – who delivered an uncharacteristically poor performance inside the Allianz Arena.
It was – in fairness – the England international’s first taste of the UEFA Champions League this season, while it was also Mikel Arteta‘s first UEFA Champions League campaign in charge of Arsenal.
A lot of people at Arsenal are almost learning on the job in terms of playing fixtures of this importance, while the squad is still in need of improvements in some areas.
On that note, those in charge of transfer decisions at Arsenal noticed something quite interesting during Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich…
What Arsenal decision makers are now thinking
Well – according to The Athletic – decision makers at the Emirates Stadium are now all too aware that Arteta needs some more firepower in his attack, and plan to address this issue in the summer.
The Gunners only had eight shots compared to 15 from Bayern Munich inside the Allianz Arena – getting just three of those on target as shown by WhoScored.
Three of these eight shots came from Martin Odegaard, with Kai Havertz taking just one attempt on goal and none from Saka – who actually angered Declan Rice with one moment of sloppiness in the 56th minute.
Tellingly, Arsenal do not have a recognised striker on double figures for goals in the Premier League this season – if you consider Havertz to be an attacking midfielder.
Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah have netted just 14 Premier League goals between them in the 2023/24 campaign so far, which really is not good enough for a club with Arsenal’s aspirations.
Edu has a No.1 target
The absence of a proper No.9 at Arsenal is striking.
Bayern Munich could boast Harry Kane on Wednesday, a talismanic figure who led the line and occupied Arsenal’s backline enough for Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane to take advantage.
Arteta does not have anybody like that – but Edu is seemingly trying to deliver a traditional No.9 for the Spaniard in Viktor Gyokeres.
A story from Football Transfers recently claimed that Arsenal have made the Sporting CP talisman their No.1 target this summer.
The Sweden international has remarkably scored 36 goals in 44 appearances this season.
If Arsenal can get this deal over the line, it would provide the likes of Saka and Gabriel Martinelli with a proper focal point to work with, as well as giving Arteta a reliable source of goals.
The post Report: What Arsenal transfer decision makers are now thinking after UEFA Champions League exit appeared first on TBR Football.