Arsene Wenger will be gutted with the way his side failed to take even a point from their trip to Stoke City last weekend. The manager has made a couple of decent additions to the squad this summer in Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac, both of who have had a decent impact on the first team already.
However, Wenger is now looking to improve other particular areas of the side, and with the deadline day fast approaching, he will have to be firm in his moves. So where do Arsenal really need to improve on? Let’s take a brief look at their strengths and weaknesses in different areas:
Defense:
The likes of Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi represent one of the best defensive duos in the country while Rob Holding and Per Mertesacker are more than decent backups. Nacho Monreal and Kolasinac have also done a decent job as a part of the back three, making Arsenal well stacked in this position.
Hector Bellerin will be the only right wing back in the squad if reports that Alex Oxlade Chamberlain wants to quit are true. They will have to spend on another full-back if they lose him. Kolasinac, Monreal and Kieran Gibbs should do enough to keep the left wing-back position strong.
Midfield:
The likes of Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin, are not seen as first team options anymore, leaving Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey and Mohamed Elneny as the only options in the midfield. Oxlade Chamberlain was used at times but he might yet quit the club which will mean that the Gunners will have to spend on a midfielder to make sure that they have all the depth they need, to compete on all four fronts this season.
Attack:
With Lacazette’s addition, Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck should be enough to lead the attack of the side alongside Lucas Perez, who may yet quit the club. Mesut Ozil and Alex Iwobi are the only natural attackers to play behind the striker leaving Arsenal very low on options in attack.
Chilean star Alexis Sanchez is not expected to stay back at the club, which will also be a problem and Wenger should do all it takes to find a natural replacement for the former Barcelona man, who was their best player in the last two seasons.
They are alive in four different competitions but if Arsenal are to win one or even two of those trophies, they will have to spend on a full-back and on a top class playmaker, before the deadline day.
