Friday Take-Away — March 17, 2023
Welcome to Friday Take-Away! In this weekly column, I offer my take on five Arsenal-related topics. These topics be anything from match tactics to transfers to a player’s dancing ability. Hopefully this Take-Away isn’t too spicy for you. Without further ado, let’s tuck in.
1) Going out of the Europa League at this stage is a positive.
Crashing out against Sporting on Thursday is understandably tough to take. We suffered two injuries, several players logged 120 minutes, and we lost in the most heartbreaking way in football. And I think some of us are reacting to that all-too-familiar feeling of having only the league left with a good portion of the season gone. But this season, the Europa League was frankly a rather pointless endeavor. We are essentially a lock to make the Champions League next season now, meaning that winning the EL had nothing to offer us except second-rate silverware. Yes, you read that correctly: second-rate silverware. Being happy to win the Europa League just for the trophy is like winning a $10,000 sweepstakes and waving your giant check around when you’re already worth a billion dollars. Accept no substitute for the real indicator of European pedigree: the Champions League.
Now we get to focus on doing something we haven’t achieved for almost two decades: winning the Premier League. Frankly, going deep into the EL would have hindered us on that front. Based on today’s draw, we would have had to go through Juventus and then Manchester United, two pretty demanding matchups, just to reach the final. We don’t have the squad to do that (more on that in a moment) while continuing to properly compete in the league. Now we just have 11 games left to make that parade in late May happen. The pressure is on now, but we have seen how hungry the players are to win the big prize.
2) Arsenal’s squad is not yet ready to compete on multiple fronts.
If this season’s Europa League campaign has shown us anything, it’s that the Gunners don’t yet have the squad to challenge in multiple competitions simultaneously. We are an injury away from having to start Rob Holding, a connoisseur of jumping out and leaving holes in the back line, in a match of consequence. Kiwior doesn’t seem particularly ready to deputize for Gabriel either. Arteta would rather risk Oleksandr Zinchenko over and over than turn to the man behind him in the pecking order. The drop-off when Thomas Partey isn’t on the pitch is massive. And the squad still feels short in the wide positions. In effect, this means that we don’t have enough players on the bench whom we can rely on to serve as good rotation options in these competitions. Therefore, going deep in these competitions would involve putting a massive strain on our more key players. Hopefully, this summer alleviates that issue. But for now, we still have work to do to address our depth.
3) Kieran Tierney should and probably will leave this summer.
It’s pretty clear at this point that Arteta does not trust Tierney. In the last few weeks, the manager has had multiple opportunities to feature the Scotsman, but hasn’t taken them. In Arsenal’s last five matches, including 3-0 and 4-0 wins against Everton and Fulham respectively, Tierney has played a grand total of 27 minutes. With reports of Newcastle, Juventus, and Inter Milan all being interested in him, it is pretty likely that this will be his last season at the Emirates. As it should be. Arsenal have evolved away from Tierney’s skill set over the last couple years. Arteta has even come out and said that Zinchenko gives the team “everything we want” at left back. Obviously the same can’t be said about Tierney. But he remains a very good player; he is a strong defender, quick, good at beating his man and getting the ball up the touchline, and is a reliable crosser. His inability to play inside continues to be a problem for him, though. Despite this, he needs to be play and Arsenal likely need to make some sales this summer to afford their desired marquee signings. An exit would be good for everyone.
4) Jorginho was never supposed to be a long-term fix.
There has been a lot of criticism of Jorginho on social media today, and honestly, it isn’t too unwarranted. His ball over the top for Gabriel Martinelli that led to Granit Xhaka’s goal was excellent. His passing against Sporting was solid. But off the ball, he was horrid. And that is the case generally. The Italian is simply not a player who offers much defensively. Relying on him in matches in which the opposition can play with pace and physicality is a recipe for disaster.
However, it is important to remember the context around Jorginho’s arrival and role in the squad. Arsenal had spent most of the final few days of the January transfer window chasing Moises Caicedo. When that didn’t pan out, they turned to a readily available player who was cheap, experienced, and reliable in situations when his side dominated possession. But here’s the best part about signing Jorginho: there is no opportunity cost. He is on an 18-month contract and cost only £12 million. What this means is that he is certainly not a long-term option, and his signing will not hinder Arsenal from bringing in a better player in that position who will be there for the foreseeable future (cough, cough, Declan Rice). It’s okay to not be a fan of his signing, although personally I think you’d be hard-pressed to do better in January. But there is no need to be worried about him being the Partey rotation option next season.
5) Ethan Nwaneri is entitled to his decision, but going to Chelsea would be a bad one.
Reports came out earlier this week stating that there is a real chance Nwaneri, the sensational 15-year-old Arsenal academy player whom Arteta gave a Premier League debut, will join Manchester City or Chelsea when he is eligible to sign a senior contract, with Chelsea apparently the most likely to land the player. To preface this take, Nwaneri is literally a child and no one should direct their ire toward him if he does go. But leaving Arsenal at this moment would frankly be a little baffling.
Out of the two potential destinations, City is a little more understandable. In recent years, a couple of their academy products have made their way into the first team. Phil Foden has become a star under Pep Guardiola. Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis have both made multiple senior appearances and shown a lot of promise when doing so. And they will be in the mix for every piece of silverware for years to come unless those charges of financial violations come to anything.
But Chelsea makes far less sense. Todd Boehly has shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is more than willing to spend his way to success. Cucurella, Koulibaly, Badiashile, Nkunku, Mudryk, Madueke, Felix, Wesley Fofana, David Datro Fofana, Fernandez, Gusto, Chukwuemeka, Andrey Santos. All those players were signed this season, and links to players like Victor Osimhen, Romeo Lavia, Declan Rice, and Moises Caicedo show they don’t plan to stop soon. Omari Hutchinson joined as well last summer under the impression that he had a better path to senior appearances there and has disappeared under a mountain of other wide players. Chelsea have sold some of their best academy talent in recent years and the others are in loan and squad player purgatory. If Nwaneri thinks Chelsea can offer him first team appearances any time soon, he has been poorly advised.
In the meantime, Arsenal have FOUR players firmly in the first team during a title challenge. Bukayo Saka has provided the blueprint on how to go from Hale End to being the cornerstone of a competitive team. Emile Smith Rowe wouldn’t be too far behind if it weren’t for injury troubles. Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson have both served as admirable squad players, with each experiencing their own mini-renaissance this season. Out in France, Folarin Balogun is strutting his stuff to the point where big-name clubs have their eye on him and U.S. Soccer is begging him to lead the national team’s front line. Arsenal have a long tradition of giving academy players a chance. Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly were touted as two of the best prospects to ever come through Hale End earlier this season, and look what supposed lesser prospects have done. If Nwaneri wants to become a star, Arsenal is the easiest place to do it. If he doesn’t realize that, it is a monumental shame.
And that’s the Take-Away for this week. If it suited your tastes, follow me on Twitter @Shamsdale. Until next time, COYG.
