It seems we are heavily reliant on a single player again.
Not Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang though.
It’s teenager, Bukayo Saka.
Our chief creator last season and for this so far, Saka’s meteoric rise has been more than deserved. From talented fringe player to England starlet, Saka has dealt with the pressures of this huge rise to stardom and a bigger platform, very quickly.
But is it fair to place such a heavy burden on a kid so young?
We have another teenager who could make as big a difference as Saka is making right now – Gabriel Martinelli. Dependant on how he returns from injury, Martinelli if he returns to the same levels as before, has shown he can turn defenders to mincemeat and can score goals from anywhere on the pitch.
Both Saka and Martinelli share qualities.
They are dynamic. They are fearless – and they commit defenders. They make things happen when a game is in limbo, waiting for something to happen.
Make no mistake, we are so lucky to have bith players, but we face a situation where we will be leaning on two teenagers to propel us up the table.
It is time the rest of the attackers stood up and were counted. They are falling below standards not only in creation, but also in goals too. We are static.
Our strikers are not doing their job of grabbing goals, but where has the creativity gone around the box? We simply go from side to side and wait for a burst. Cue a wayward pass and we lose possession.
Our midfielders too, they seem to be on the periphery of our attacks.
Dani Ceballos, Granit Xhaka – they have to load the bullets from time to time and they are not doing so.
Both Saka and Martinelli have a huge job in getting our team playing at the right speed. A burst from either one of them and we transform into the Arsenal we know we can be – but it is abundantly clear we need some of our other players to read from the same hymn sheet.
We are The Arsenal, we are famed for our swift football and at the moment, only two players seem capable of doing so – and one of them is still injured.