Mikel Arteta tight-lipped on Arsenal’s January plans as Jarrod Bowen stat highlights struggles in front of goal
Mikel Arteta has remained tight-lipped over plans to sign a striker after another frustrating night in front of goal.
Arsenal fell to a 2-0 defeat against West Ham to miss the chance to go ahead of Liverpool and move into top spot in the Premier League.
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Arteta’s side couldn’t score despite having 30 shots against West HamCredit: AFP
Losing to David Moyes’ side is nothing to be ashamed of, but given that the Gunners boasted 74 per cent possession and having 30 shots during the game, the lack of potency in front of goal will be concerning.
Only eight of those 30 efforts were on target against West Ham, suggesting that Arsenal could benefit from attacking reinforcements next month.
So far this season, West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen has scored 11 goals in the Premier League this term – a tally that surpasses that of Arsenal trio Bukayo Saka (five) Gabriel Martinelli (two) and Gabriel Jesus (three) combined.
As a result, Arsenal have been linked with a number of strikers including Ivan Toney and Viktor Gyokeres, both of whom would add surefire goals to the attack.
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Brentford star Toney is still serving his eight-month ban from football for breaching the Football Association’s betting rules.
He is set to return on January 17, and he is already being linked with a winter transfer, but talkSPORT understands the Bees don’t want to sell.
An asking price of £80million has been set though as Arsenal, along with London rivals Chelsea, track his situation.
Meanwhile Gyokeres has scored 17 goals in 20 games for Sporting Lisbon since joining from Coventry City in the summer.
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Toney is one of the players reported to be on Arsenal’s radarCredit: Getty
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As is Gyokeres, a player who is scoring goals for fun for Sporting LisbonCredit: Getty
But speaking after the defeat to West Ham, Arteta remained coy when quizzed on their January plans.
He said: “It’s what it is. We have to try to generate. If we don’t score with 30 shots, then we have to do 50 or 60 to try to score. That’s the only thing.
“I can’t imagine a game where we have more touches in the box, more dominance and less situations for the opponent against a really good West Ham side.
“Today, though, it wasn’t enough to win the game.”
He added: “All we have is the players we have, the players I love the most.
“What we have to do is try to get better situations, more training, raise the confidence and that’s it. They’ve done it.”
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Arsenal will be desperate to bounce back against FulhamCredit: Getty
Arsenal are next in action against Fulham at Craven Cottage on December 31 where they’ll be looking to bounce back.
