Perhaps Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and set-pieces are not enough for Arsenal to win the Premier League. The disappointing 0-0 draw with Everton showed that the "Gunners" should have spent more in the transfer market.
Arsenal are unlikely to spend big in January despite being able to win the title as Manchester City are in decline. Meanwhile, The Citizens said they will back Pep Guardiola in the transfer market as they seek to prevent the alarming decline.
The Gunners now believe that only injury or a particularly unexpected opportunity will prompt them to spend a significant amount of money in January. When talking about transfer needs, Mikel Arteta often points to available personnel options, in addition to daily improvement. Of course, the Spaniard is not wrong.
Odegaard, Saka and Arsenal's fixed ability have been a great combination recently. But that has unintentionally hidden the lack of game-changer options Arteta could use. The stalemate of 0-0 against Everton was the most typical example.
Everton have had 10 days off due to the postponement of the Merseyside derby with Liverpool. And so they have had more rest and training than Arsenal, who have played two more games in the same period. This was an unusual imbalance that certainly contributed to the draw. However, while the last 20 minutes were crazy, this was the kind of controlled chaos that Arsenal usually do very well.
However, misplaced passes or poor selection in the final third have disrupted the momentum Arsenal often create to overwhelm opponents in need of goals.
Arsenal's substitutions didn't help much, and that was the fault of Arteta and the individuals involved. Kai Havertz had a lackluster game, while Gabriel Jesus has yet to score in his last 23 league appearances, and has only scored in 34 games in all competitions. Leandro Trossard was completely ineffective, while Raheem Sterling did not even get on the field.
Arsenal have produced plenty of magical moments in recent months. However, they could soon be looking for new stars if they continue to have similar dismal performances.
"We did everything well, except for scoring. If there is one team that deserves to win, it is Arsenal. We didn't have to face any shots on target from Everton, we controlled the game, pressed well, didn't let the opponent run or take a free kick.
We created 3 or 4 clear chances but didn't do well enough in the last 20m to score. That's what you have to do when you're overwhelming like that, because we used to play well in this way," Arteta said after the draw with Everton.
