Does Victory At Brentford Indicate Arsenal Need New Players In January?

Mikel Arteta still wants to maximize the Arsenal squad available (Instagram/@arsenal).

JAKARTA - Arsenal had to make the same decisions as they did in the summer, did they have enough attackers to win the Premier League?

The 3-1 win over Brentford on Thursday, January 2, 2025, was inconclusive. Manager Mikel Arteta said the search for a solution without Bukayo Saka - who was absent until March 2025 after the hamstring operation - would begin internally.

He made a surprise by giving a chance to play first for teenager Ethan Nwaneri in the league. Nwaneri is placed on the right side, the usual area of Saka.

It was encouraging that Nwaneri looked calm beyond his age and played a role in Arsenal's second goal in the second half.

Meanwhile, the presence of Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli on the scoreboard will reinforce the view that the Gunners have enough firepower to hunt Liverpool.

However, they cut the gap at the top of the table to six points without Saka and Kai Havertz, who were absent from the virus.

Havertz has been sent home for isolation and is expected to be available for an away match on Sunday, January 5, 2025 against Brighton & Hove Albion.

However, there is a feeling that Arsenal may need a little more if they want to achieve the goal, which is declared open, adding to the league trophy in the five years of sustainable progress under Arteta.

"We've broken so many records, but in reality this team doesn't have the big titles we're looking for," Arteta said.

Senior Arsenal figures concluded that after being eliminated in the 2023/2025 Champions League quarter-finals from Bayern Munich, they needed wingers or center-forwards to strengthen attack options.

Then, the name Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig appeared as a choice they preferred.

The problem is, Leipzig moved quickly to fence off Sesko with a new contract. Meanwhile, Arsenal chose to stay afloat because they believed the ideal alternative was not available.

Currently, Liverpool's advantages at the top are constantly being watched. However, the Gunners are again facing the same puzzle this month, some fans are pushing wingers and others are suggesting clinical completion should be a priority.

It was something the club had to think about after coming back from one goal in 13 minutes at Brentford headquarters, Gtech Community Stadium.

The hosts took the lead in the 13th minute. Mikkel Damsgaard fed Bryan Mbeumo in the empty space. When Riccardo Calafiori was late to withdraw, Mbeumo had time to beat goalkeeper David Raya at his near post.

Arsenal looked a little lethargic, but bounced back afterwards. Mark Fleken parried Thomas Partey's shot in the 29th minute with the bouncing ball immediately headed by Jesus to equalize until halftime.

Mikel Merino then turned things around with a Nwaneri corner that Brentford failed to block five minutes into the second half.

Three minutes later, Nwaneri's other pass caused a problem as Nathan Collins could only head the ball into Martinelli. The Brazilian then fired a good shot past Flekken.

Signs of the revival of Martinelli and Jesus came at the right time. Jesus has scored six goals in four games, after one goal in 33 very troublesome matches.

Martinelli has now scored three goals in their last four league away games, one goal in another 26 away games.

"The timing is right. Both are very important. Sharing goals is the quality of our team. Great."

"Today we managed to do it again, scoring goals in three very different ways."

"Great, that's what we need. Players up front must be excited and have that feeling. They are feeling it now," said Arteta.

Asking Nwaneri - who has just started his senior career for the fourth time - to emulate Saka's highly consistent creative results will be unfair and unrealistic.

You see, the position of the right wing is not the position he is in control at the young level.

However, his performance against Brentford, who still hasn't recorded a clean sheet at home in the league this season, simply shows that it's an option worth exploring further.

"In that position, it was a decision I made (to play Nwaneri) because I thought he was the best player in that position to start the game."

"Because there is a story with his debut in the Premier League, sometimes those feelings arise and you feel that's right and then who knows?"

"The part of that development is patience and frustration management or expectation management."

"The thing is, you expect things to go as fast as before and that's not the case."

"So, now we're building it. He's been playing a lot of minutes for us with his age. He's completely worthy of it," said Arteta.

Meanwhile, with Leandro Trossard only as a substitute at the end of the match, Arteta may feel he is enough to navigate the next four events.

The availability of the target you like will definitely be a factor in January 2025. However, Arsenal need to immediately decide whether they ventured on the exchange to find the impetus they need or support the squad at this time to reach the finish line after two years of almost failing.

"When I see the will of each individual to play through whatever and the flexibility we can create in our idea, the answer is no."

"However, we don't know clearly if anything else happens. We'll have other problems. Hopefully not, hopefully people will come back. We need everyone," Arteta said when asked if Arsenal felt a lack of choice or not.