As we head into 2025 there is a lot of gloom and doom around Arsenal fans. The Saka injury has punched a hole in the guts of many, who have conceded the title to Liverpool already.
A year ago we were arguably in a worse place. The New Years Eve defeat to Fulham meant we were in a run of 1 win in 5 with 3 defeats and a draw. People were demanding a busy transfer window - we signed no-one. Liverpool were clear at the top, 5 points ahead of us. We sat 4th behind Villa and Man City (who had a game in hand too). A run of 16 wins, a draw and a solitary defeat saw us overturn that deficit and finish 7 points clear of Liverpool - sadly Manchester City were in the equation back then and beat us by 1 point.
It feels like a squad that needs an injection of freshness into it. We have suffered heavily with injuries, meaning rotation opportunities have been limited. Ben White, Bukayo Saka and Takehiro Tomiyasu are long term absentees while injuries to Mikel Merino, Martin Odegaard, Riccardo Calafiori and others have meant we have struggled to find our best XI. We will be linked to a lot of players, but it is likely we will have to be sensible with our budget and wait until the summer to really attack our problems.
We may see a couple of departures, Kieran Tierney could go out on loan with obligation or option to buy. If a serious offer came in for Zinchenko then he could be allowed to leave with Myles Lewis Skelly stepping ahead of him. Jakub Kiwior will again be linked to Italy, but with the fitness woes of his fellow defenders it seems unlikely to go. Leandro Trossard was a late link to Saudi and could attract interest, but again we are unlikely to entertain them in this window.
The title race is far from over, we are only halfway through the season. However, to expect us to reach the levels of the second half of last season seems rather optimistic. The extra Champions League and League Cup games will push us harder, with no trip to Dubai possible!
A year ago...
posted 2 days, 21 hours ago
There have also been a significant amount of games missed by Timber, Odegaard and Rice, due to injuries, with all forced to return before they were ready, meaning they barely made it to the hour mark in matches for weeks afterwards.
Gabriel was out injured for a while too, whilst we also suffered ridiculous suspensions to Rice and Trossard, not to mention the controversial sending off for Saliba.
And Saka’s current injury isn’t even the first time we’ve been without him this season.
The manager has acknowledged we went into the season with a small squad. Hopefully we’ve the resources to significantly boost it in January.
posted 2 days, 21 hours ago
Tierney's contract ends in june 2025, there will be no obligation to buy. He will leave on a free
posted 2 days, 21 hours ago
Obligation to him.
posted 2 days, 18 hours ago
Saka being injured for so long is really a big setback for us. To find a replacement in the transfer market seems an unsolvable task. We must be creative and players especially our midfielder have to step up in terms of goal scoring.
Our position in all competitions are good. We need a run of games like we did last season where people write us off with the most difficult schedule.
posted 2 days, 18 hours ago
No doubt Saka being out for such a long period is a blow and something that won't be fixed with transfers but new blood could soften the blow. One advantage we do have is that we've pretty much played all the top sides away other than Liverpool so in theory we should have a better run in.
posted 2 days, 17 hours ago
Could be signing Hatem Trabelsi this window, strongly linked again
posted 2 days, 5 hours ago
I really wish I could refrain from being doom & gloom / negative but for me, unless we go big in January, that Saka injury is the final nail in our coffin.
Even before the Saka injury we were looking at having to catch up a number of points that had been done only once before, or was it never before? I forget.
The fact that we rely so heavily on him for important moments, goals in big games and in many ways, to carry the attack in general, does not bode well.
It's also devastating to think that our best player, someone we've said we wouldn't sell for an offer of £150m is now very possibly never going to recover to be as good again. Sadly we have to be honest and admit he could be crocked and become a regular on the physio's table. There are a number of examples of players whose careers dwindled away into obscurity after a torn hamstring such as Michael Owen.
posted 2 days, 5 hours ago
It also leads me to wonder how the rest of the squad will be feeling right now... They know better than anyone how important Saka was to their chances.
Do they rally around and fight harder? Do they give everything to win the PL now? Do they find new determination in trying to win it for Saka?
Or do they (deep down) give up on this season and fade?