Arsenal were linked with signing Ibrahim Afellay on loan this summer. They chose not to, and the problems on the left side of the pitch are mounting.
When Lukas Podolski expressed his dissatisfaction at being played out wide rather than as a central striker, it highlighted an area of weakness in the Arsenal squad.
It is no coincidence he made his comments after having to work twice as hard to cover defensively in recent games with Andre Santos behind him, and he clearly just wants to get on with scoring goals.
The left side of the pitch is emerging as a problem area for the Gunners, in addition to the perception they require a defensive midfielder and a striker. The good news is Kieran Gibbs will return from injury at left-back before long, but what is the solution on the left-wing?
Andrei Arshavin? Tried that, and it hasn’t worked. Gervinho? Completely hit and miss, and Miyaichi is on loan at Wigan. Andre Santos? We’ll let you answer that.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the obvious solution, but every league game he has started this season he has featured on the right and that is where Wenger sees him fulfilling a role for the time being. Podolski has ‘done a job’ out there, but evidently he is unhappy.
If only there was a top class winger available in the summer, who could have been brought in on loan…
That brings us to Ibrahim Afellay. The Barcelona player was available for loan in the summer, and was reportedly offered to the Gunners in July. It took until late August for him to be snapped up, by Schalke.
He made a big impression when he played at the Emirates a fortnight ago, setting one goal up for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and scoring another in a 2-0 win.
But not dwelling on that one game, it is more the 10 Premier League games he could have played for Arsenal that he has been more sorely missed, and the 28 going forward which he could have played in.
An out and out left-winger is what the club could really do with, to allow Lukas Podolski to move into the centre. Afellay is just that, but that ship has sailed, so it is now worth focusing on who the Gunners could potentially bring in during the transfer window.
Wilfried Zaha has been linked, but apart from the hype surrounding him and expectantly huge price tag, he is a right-sided attacker rather than left. This though isn’t of course to say Wenger could not convert him; he could play there and Oxlade-Chamberlain the left.
Another option is Thomas Ince, another highly rated young Championship talent with Blackpool, who is left-sided, but Arsenal will face competition from Manchester United for his signature.
Olivier Giroud’s former teammate, 23-year-old Karim Ait-Fana is another possibility. The Frenchman weighed in with crucial goals to help Montpellier to the title last season, and has already netted in the Champions League this time around from the left-wing. The prospect of linking up with Giroud would be a plus, and he would be far cheaper than Zaha.
All in all its time for Wenger to take a close look at that area of the pitch, and work out which direction he wants to go in, because Podolski’s unhappiness is a problem he could do without right now, and the striker is right that he arrived to play up front rather than cover for Andre Santos’ defensive deficiencies.
Should Arsenal sign Zaha, Ince or Ait-Fana? Should they have gone for Afellay? Who is the solution?
image: © jikatu
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