Assessing Arsenal's attack: Who should be starting up front for the Gunners?

                                       

Assessing Arsenal's attack: Who should Mikel Arteta be starting up front for the Gunners in the Premier League

By Adam Le Roux

We are now halfway through the Premier League season, and Arsenal fans are still scratching their heads about who Mikel Arteta will be playing up front week after week.

Will it be Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, will it be Alexandre Lacazette? Will Eddie Nketiah or Emile Smith Rowe be given a go? What about Willian? What is Willian? Whatever.

The mark of a successful team is to have the nucleus of a squad that you can rely on week in, week out, but with all the chopping and changing in the Arsenal ranks at the moment it has been impossible to pin down a reliable trio to spearhead the Gunners’ attack.

And those issues have been represented in the numbers, with Arteta’s side finding the back of the net just 23 times in their 19 Premier League matches to date - the fewest out of the top 12 teams in the division.

It still seems the Spaniard is trying to find the magic formula in the business end of the field so far this season, but who deserves to be given a starting berth on a regular basis for the Gunners?

The troubled talisman - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Despite his misfortunes in front of goal in the current campaign, it would take a brave man to believe that ousting Aubameyang would significantly help the Gunners going forward.

The Gabonese star has been at the forefront of everything that Arsenal have done right since he signed in the January of 2018, but just hasn’t been able to rediscover his goalscoring touch for much of this season.

Every player has their peaks and troughs, and for the 31-year-old this was probably long overdue, but his determination to get back among the goals has eventually reaped its rewards since the turn of the year.

Having registered just three goals in his 13 Premier League matches before Christmas, the former Borussia Dortmund man helped himself to a brace against Newcastle United last time out, as well as grabbing a goal against the same opponent in the FA Cup earlier in the month.

Form is temporary, class is permanent, as the old saying goes, and with Aubameyang it is very much a case of the latter. On his day he can terrorise any defence in the league and, after getting back among the goals recently, he will be oozing with confidence ahead of a crucial run of fixtures both domestically and in Europe.

It is not just goals that he brings to the party though, with his vision, pace and movement always a threat for opposing defenders, while it also makes space for his teammates to move into.

That footballing intelligence is exactly why Arteta has stuck with his main man through this troublesome time, and he looks a mainstay if the Gunners are to climb back up the table.

The grumpy goal getter - Alexandre Lacazette

He may be Arsenal’s top goalscorer in the Premier League this season, but there are still plenty of rumours that Lacazette is unhappy at the Emirates and is considering a move away from the club.

The Frenchman has lashed in seven league goals this season, with a purple patch of four goals in the three matches after Christmas incredibly crucial in getting the Gunners back to winning ways.

From there, Arsenal haven’t lost a league fixture, although the 29-year-old cut a frustrated figure up front when he drew a blank against Crystal Palace, and question marks will always remain about squeezing Aubameyang and Lacazette into the same team.

The former Lyon man never looks comfortable playing anywhere but in the centre of an attacking three, forcing his teammate out wide, with both having to try to compromise for the greater good of the team.

The thing with Lacazette is he can turn a game on its head at the drop of a hat, but can look ineffective for much of the rest of the game and when your team is up against it you need all hands to the pump.

Take his recent goal against Brighton as an example, a snap shot that won Arsenal the game and earned them an invaluable three points, but as all-round team players go, he comes up short.

With rumours of a summer move away starting to rear their head once again, thoughts have to start turning towards the future, with the Frenchman one of those likely to be replaced in the starting XI.

The enigmatic Ivorian - Nicolas Pepe

It’s almost 18 months since Pepe joined the club from Lille, and most of us are still none the wiser as to whether the Ivory Coast international is an exceptional talent or a wasted one.

One week you will see the sublime from the crafty winger, and the next you will see the outright absurd as he continues to excite and frustrate in equal measure.

Two Premier League goals this season shows the lack of end product that Arteta has repeatedly flagged in the past, and something that he continues to work on, but it is clear to see that the creativity and ingenuity is there to be worked with.

The flamboyant wide man’s ability to cut inside and make space for himself on his left foot makes him an excellent player to have in the ranks, it’s just when he puts boot to ball after making the opportunity that things go awry.

A wayward shot or an overhit cross is usually the follow up to a superb bit of skill to make the chance, leaving teammates, manager and supporters fuming as another promising opportunity goes begging.

But that raw talent and flair is exactly what Arsenal are craving - that little something different - and in Pepe they have the perfect player to work with, as some of the strikes he has contributed in the Europa League this season prove.

The yearning youngsters - Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli

This trio have played themselves into contention for regular starting places throughout the course of the season, with each playing their part when they have been given the opportunities.

We were all aware of what Bukayo Saka could produce after his barnstorming performances in a red and white shirt, and he has produced just as regularly this season as he forms a clinical partnership with Kieran Tierney down the left-hand side.

The doggedness and determination of the teenager immediately lends himself to the Arsenal fans, with the 19-year-old harrying defenders and chasing every loose ball, before wreaking havoc when he has possession.

Three goals in his last five Premier League matches prove he knows where the goal is, and the England international is proof that if you’re good enough you are old enough, as he ousts senior members of the squad to become a regular under Arteta.

The same can be said for Smith Rowe, with the young star performing admirably since his inclusion in the squad for the Boxing Day clash with Chelsea at the Emirates.

Since then he has gone from strength to strength and has become one of the shining lights of a bleak season for the Gunners, and certainly looks to be one to hang around in the future, with a promising career ahead.

The same goes for Gabriel Martinelli, who’s injury-ravaged campaign continued after pulling up in the warmup ahead of the Newcastle FA Cup match, leading to another spell on the sidelines for the Brazilian.

He may not have found the net this season but his verve and tenacity excites each and every Arsenal supporter when he is on the pitch, and his unpredictability can bamboozle defenders with ease.

Young Guns fail to make the grade - Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson

You just have to compare the impact of the three names above to that of Nketiah and Reiss Nelson to realise that sometimes it is better to say your goodbyes and move to the future.

These two academy prospects haven’t been afforded the most game time this season, and when they have they have failed to make the most of their opportunities; with Nketiah netting just once in the Premier League from his 13 appearances.

Nelson has barely been given a sniff of first-team football throughout the campaign and, apart from finding the net in a 3-0 victory over Molde in the Europa League, he doesn’t look to be part of Arteta’s plans going forward.

With both players 21 years of age, this is a point in their careers where they need to stand up and make themselves counted. But, with younger talent coming up through the ranks and getting game time, it’s surely time to show these two the door.

What a waste - Willian

No, just no.

Who should Arteta be starting as his best attacking unit?

Arteta has to have one eye on the future as he picks his team, and the bright, talented youth products that Arsenal have been unfurling of late need to be given regular game time to help them progress into the stars of the future.

With Aubameyang leading the line down the middle, having Saka on the left and Pepe on the other side of him will be a combination that will blossom if given the time to shine.

The industry of Saka and the flamboyancy of Pepe give the perfect combination to supply the clinical marksman in the middle, while Smith Rowe - or the potential new signing of Martin Odegaard - the perfect man to be playing behind in the hole.

Martinelli can add impetus from the bench to give an added push late in the game, with the effervescent teenager so often the catalyst for an energetic performance in the final third from the Gunners.

With this line-up the creative spark will be sprinkled upon Arsenal performances in abundance, and the lack of goals that has blighted this season will soon be a thing of the past.

Photo Credit: Getty Images