For Arsenal, although the team's recent performance has shown some improvement and the situation in the league standings has improved, considering that there are still obvious weaknesses in the team's lineup and their tactical approach this season is somewhat monotonous, their championship prospects do not look promising. According to British media reports, Arsenal management has made a decision to adjust the squad during the winter transfer window. Several key players will be let go, while the team will also welcome some top-level reinforcements.
In the eyes of outsiders, the main reason why Arsenal's offense has been criticized this season is Arteta's obsession with set-piece tactics. The team's offensive goal is to create free kicks and corners in the frontcourt, losing the characteristics of penetrating through short passes, cutting combinations, and quick counterattacks to tear apart the opponent's defense. To achieve this goal, Arteta has focused on recruiting tall players with excellent heading ability in the last two transfer windows. Merino came to the team under such circumstances. However, this tactical approach also brought significant drawbacks, namely that when the efficiency of scoring from set-pieces decreased, Arsenal found it difficult to score enough goals through other means.
At the same time, due to the accumulation of many tall and slow midfielders, the midfield operation efficiency was significantly poor. Especially when facing the opponent's fast counterattack, Arsenal's central midfielders and holding midfielders find it difficult to get into position in time, putting great pressure on the backline. Moreover, among Arsenal's current midfielders, whether it is Merino, Jorginho, or Declan Rice who is highly regarded, they have not performed well in terms of passing vision, creativity, and accuracy. This greatly affects the team's offensive efficiency.
By contrast, Thomas Partey stands out among midfielders in terms of mobility and ball distribution. In the absence of injuries this season, the 31-year-old holding midfielder has become one of Arsenal's most reliable players. However, at present, Thomas Partey's future with the team looks very bleak. According to multiple sources, with less than half a year left on his contract, Arsenal has not offered him an ideal renewal contract. This means that this midfield "gem" will have to leave dejectedly at the end of the season.
On the forward line, apart from Saka maintaining a very high level, the performances of other players have been unsatisfactory. Especially on the left flank, Trossard's state of decline has exceeded the team's expectations. So far this season, Trossard has played 29 times in various events, scoring 4 goals and contributing 3 assists, with very average efficiency. Recently, Arsenal offered him a 1+1 year contract, but it was rejected. According to the British media "FootballTransfers", considering Trossard's poor performance this season and the fact that his contract has 1.5 seasons left to expire, Arsenal has decided to expel this "deadwood" attacker. They expect a transfer fee of about 25 million pounds for him.
In addition to Trossard, Martinelli's performance this season has not shown any significant improvement. The 23-year-old left winger has completed 6 goals and 2 assists in 28 games, with an average rating of only 6.89 points, ranking fourteenth in the team. With Trossard being abandoned, Arsenal hopes to sign a starting left winger and use Martinelli as a rotational player for this position. According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Cunha has become Arsenal's most desirable signing target, and this Brazilian striker is expected to join the team quickly. In terms of technical characteristics, Cunha's individual breakthroughs and finishing ability are top-notch in the Premier League. He has already scored 10 goals and provided 4 assists this season, averaging 1.8 successful dribbles and 1.7 key passes per game. It is expected that Cunha's transfer fee will not be lower than 65 million pounds.