Arsenal must address lack of creativity in summer transfer window
By Tom Gott
Dull. Lifeless. Bland. Uninspiring.
Mikel Arteta might have raised morale at Arsenal and bolstered their defence, but in attack, the Gunners are cripplingly boring. They routinely struggle to create chances, and it's that staleness that saw them need a 97th-minute Eddie Nketiah goal to spare their blushes against Fulham on Sunday.
What made this performance so frustrating for Arsenal fans was just how comfortable they were for the entire match. Fulham didn't want this and were happy defending for a 0-0, so why were Arsenal the side playing catch-up again? Why were they celebrating so wildly after securing a draw against a side fighting for their lives?
Arteta's side enjoyed so much possession but created so little. Sure, they were unlucky with a handful of good Alphonse Areola saves, but any goalkeeper would have dealt with them. The Frenchman wasn't required to be at his best because so little came his way.
For Arsenal, the problem lies in the lack of creativity from all across the midfield.
Against Fulham, the only players who looked like they wanted to create something were Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, but they're both dribblers. They both want to isolate a man one-on-one out wide and beat him with speed, but that's not always possible.
There's just no Plan B for Arsenal. Emile Smith Rowe doesn't have the end product needed to be relied upon just yet, and while Martin Odegaard has impressed when fit, he's not enough. Behind him, there's nothing.
Arteta lined up with a midfield two of Dani Ceballos and Mohamed Elneny for this one, and of the two, it was the former who was doing the defending. Having seen that he doesn't have what it takes to be Arsenal's master creator, Ceballos is now working on his defensive game, and truth be told, he was excellent at that.
However, Elneny as the primary midfield creator? Yikes.
The Egyptian's eye for a forward pass was atrocious against Fulham. Time and time again he derailed Arsenal's forward moves with a backwards ball, and you could see how irritated his teammates were with his performance.
To play devil's advocate for a second, Arteta's hands are somewhat tied by the left-back injury crisis which has seen midfield chief Granit Xhaka played at the back, but that doesn't mean all hope must go out the window.
With Xhaka's passing now gone (Xhaka as a midfield maestro is a debate for another day), Arsenal needed something else to link up midfield and attack, and they got nothing.
This summer will give Arsenal the chance to address that. They must find someone capable of making something happen from anywhere other than the wing, or else the Gunners will continue to be the most predictable team in the league.