00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Hello, welcome to another episode
00:05 of the Chris Wheatley Show,
00:06 Shots TV's one-stop shop to keep you in the know
00:09 on all things Arsenal.
00:10 I'm your host, Jason Jones.
00:11 I'm joined, as always, by Chris Wheatley.
00:14 This week, we'll be discussing a slump in form
00:16 for the Gunners, potential transfer plans
00:18 for the coming weeks, and as always,
00:20 we'll be putting your listener questions to Chris as well.
00:22 So without further ado, Chris,
00:24 plenty to get through this morning,
00:26 not least, of course, a bit of a dip in form for Arsenal.
00:30 I think it's fair to say it's three defeats in a row now
00:33 across all competitions for Michael Arteta's men,
00:35 including a really sort of painful defeat
00:39 at the hands of Liverpool in the FA Cup on Sunday.
00:42 I think it's fair to say it was a bit
00:43 of a sucker punch performance in many respects.
00:46 I suppose, obviously, there's a lot of detail
00:48 to get through, but the big question really is
00:51 where is it going wrong for Michael Arteta's men
00:53 at the moment?
00:54 - Yeah, you're absolutely right, Jason.
00:55 First of all, happy new year to all of our viewers
00:58 and listeners across all platforms.
01:01 And yeah, it hasn't been a great start to 2024
01:04 for Arsenal, of course, and as you mentioned,
01:07 three defeats in three games is not exactly
01:11 what Michael Arteta would have been hoping for
01:14 over the past few weeks.
01:15 And indeed, it's more of a worry
01:18 what they're actually outputting up front
01:21 in terms of the lack of goals,
01:24 the lack of kind of clinical-ness in the final third.
01:29 That is really what they've been missing,
01:31 that kind of strike.
01:33 It's almost like we're kind of playing a record on repeat,
01:36 isn't it, Jason?
01:37 We've spoken about Arsenal's need for a striker
01:41 over the past, well, since the start of last season,
01:44 I think, and Gabriel Jesus, he's now missing with an injury,
01:49 but he hasn't exactly been reliable
01:51 when it comes to guessing goals.
01:53 But we know that Arsenal need to get a striker.
01:56 I think now that these past few games
01:58 have really shown the need for it,
02:00 but just go looking at some of the stats,
02:03 one win in seven games now that is for Arsenal,
02:06 just five goals scored in those seven games.
02:10 So I think the issue is that while they are controlling games
02:15 in the final third, they're just not clinical enough.
02:17 And that is a big problem.
02:19 I saw Ian Wright as well tweet,
02:21 "We need a killer" after that Liverpool game.
02:24 And I think really right now,
02:27 Mikel Arteta is probably thinking the same.
02:29 Not many options though up front, Arsenal.
02:32 They don't have too many options to choose from.
02:35 And Eddie Nketiah is probably the closest thing
02:38 to an out-and-out striker that they have,
02:40 but he doesn't really guarantee you goals.
02:42 So yeah, I think a lot of question marks
02:44 about this Arsenal team at the moment,
02:46 but I'm sure Arteta will be just hoping
02:48 it's a slump in form rather than a sign of what's to come.
02:52 - Do you think it'd be fair to say
02:55 that where Arsenal are concerned,
02:57 perhaps some of these issues that they're now
03:00 sort of suffering at this moment in time,
03:01 not having a consistent goal scorer
03:03 have perhaps been covered by how brilliant
03:06 the likes of Bakayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli
03:09 have been in recent months and recent seasons.
03:11 Obviously those two players maybe not producing
03:14 the sort of goal scoring return
03:15 that we might expect from them over the course of the season.
03:18 Do you think that what we're seeing right now
03:20 is a reflection of that as well
03:21 and almost a sign that Arsenal need that centre forward
03:25 because they can't be relying on their wingers
03:26 to patch up those cracks?
03:28 - Yeah, definitely.
03:29 It's a great point you make.
03:30 I think when the rest of the team is scoring goals
03:33 and finding assists and producing those numbers
03:36 that you need, it's okay.
03:38 But when all of the attacking options
03:41 aren't coming up with the goals that are needed,
03:44 it's a bit more difficult.
03:46 And Gabriel Martinelli, I think he's really struggled
03:48 over the past season or so, since the start of the season.
03:52 He's not been in the form that he was over the last campaign.
03:57 Bakayo Saka as well, as much as he has contributed
04:00 with a few goals here and there,
04:02 doesn't look the same player as he was last season.
04:05 So yeah, I think that's one of the biggest issues
04:07 for Arsenal right now.
04:08 They need to find alternative options
04:12 where goals are concerned
04:13 and they don't really have many of them.
04:16 I think the good news is that they are controlling games.
04:19 They are looking like they are fretting games,
04:24 but they're just not clinical enough.
04:25 And I think that is really where Arteta
04:28 will need to get his coaching team
04:30 and need to find some ideas from somewhere
04:32 because at the moment they are in a big slump
04:35 and they're falling away from the pack in the title race
04:38 and now out of another competition as well.
04:41 So yeah, they need to find some answers and fast.
04:45 - Just focusing in briefly on that game on Sunday,
04:49 obviously, like you say, it was a game that actually
04:52 Arsenal arguably had the better of for large swathes of it.
04:55 How disappointing will it be for Mikkel Arteta
04:58 to see his side go and squander so many chances,
05:01 especially in the first half,
05:02 and then ultimately get one done
05:04 by two relatively late goals at home
05:07 against one of their biggest rivals in the country?
05:11 - Yeah, I think they did have some good chances in that game.
05:13 Martin Odegaard crashed his shot against the crossbar.
05:17 And when you consider as well that Liverpool were missing
05:20 Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah,
05:22 I think that is really when you have to think
05:25 Arsenal had a great opportunity to beat Liverpool
05:28 in that match.
05:29 And yeah, Liverpool were missing two of their key players,
05:32 but their game plan worked.
05:34 They eventually got Arsenal on the counter attack
05:36 and their two goals were,
05:38 well, the first goal was an own goal from Jakob Kvyel.
05:42 That wasn't great from Arsenal's perspective.
05:44 And the last goal was just a sucker punch
05:47 with Luis Diaz scoring in the final seconds of the game.
05:51 But I think Jürgen Klopp will be very happy
05:53 with his game plan.
05:56 From Mikkel Arteta's side,
05:57 it will just be a bit of a worry how Arsenal
06:00 are letting these games just slip game after game now.
06:05 But yeah, I do think it was a match
06:07 which was there for the taking from Arsenal.
06:10 And they certainly had the chances to win,
06:12 but as we've already said, just weren't clinical enough.
06:15 - Now, obviously,
06:18 Arsenal head into a little bit of a winter break.
06:20 They've got a week off.
06:21 Obviously, we know that the Premier League
06:22 does this sort of staggered fixture thing now in January
06:25 where each team will get a week off.
06:27 So, Arsenal's next game is not until the 20th
06:30 in the Premier League.
06:31 That's against Crystal Palace,
06:32 a Saturday lunchtime kickoff.
06:35 Will that give Mikkel Arteta some hope
06:37 that he can get his players on the training pitch?
06:38 Maybe just try and, you know,
06:40 anchor things a little bit,
06:41 try and get things back in order
06:43 and hopefully return to winning ways
06:45 when they come up against Palace
06:46 a little later in the month?
06:48 - Yeah, I think so.
06:49 I mean, they're missing some players as well.
06:50 Don't forget Gabriel Jesus, Thomas Partey,
06:53 and then there's the longer term,
06:55 Jurgen Timber on the absentee list.
06:57 But I think, yeah, it's a good chance
07:00 to have a look on the training ground
07:02 where things are going wrong
07:03 and look to try maybe some new things,
07:06 maybe a different formation
07:07 or maybe a different kind of lineup
07:11 because right now the current crop of players
07:14 are not really doing what's needed,
07:17 especially the attacking players.
07:19 So, yeah, I think Mikkel Arteta
07:22 will have a good look at his team over this break.
07:25 It's not really that long.
07:26 I mean, it's 10 days, isn't it, from now.
07:28 But I think that Crystal Palace game
07:31 is a good match for Arsenal
07:33 to kind of get back on form
07:36 and get some goals as well
07:39 because that's what they need at the moment.
07:40 But I think the biggest question right now
07:42 is the transfer window.
07:45 Who are Arsenal going to sign?
07:46 I know we're going to come to it in a second,
07:49 but I think that is the question
07:50 which a lot of fans are asking at the moment
07:53 because there's a lot of movement from other clubs,
07:58 but Arsenal may be a little bit quiet
08:01 in terms of what they're expected to do
08:04 over the next couple of weeks.
08:05 (upbeat music)
