While most of us in the UK have been left shivering in sub-zero temperatures these last few weeks, the Arsenal squad have been luxuriating in the comfort of warm weather training in Dubai.
And, considering the quite miserable run they endured over the Christmas and new year period, it was perhaps the perfect time to jet off, relax and recuperate.
Tomorrow, however, they come back to reality with a Premier League clash against Crystal Palace at the Emirates. The fun is over, business is back.
Ahead of the break, it’s fair to say the Gunners were enduring a miserable time in front of goal. Not only were half-chances going begging, we were missing sitters from every possible angle. And the rot wasn’t restricted to one or two players – the entire front line was addled with it. One win in seven speaks for itself.
By the time the final whistle had been blown in the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, it felt like the season was about to come crashing down around our ears.
With that in mind, I would have thought one of the most important tasks from the two weeks away would have been to drive the doubts from everybody’s minds. Confidence is everything in football and it had deserted us by the turn of the new year. The task for Mikel Arteta and his coaching staff will have been to patch it up and reinforce it ahead of this weekend.
In an ideal world, Mikel and Edu would have taken this opportunity to bring some fresh firepower into the squad – a genuine finisher who could serve as the cherry on top of the cake. We haven’t really had a killer in front of goal since Pierre Emerick Aubameyang was in his best form for the Gunners in 2020. Since that time, we have largely made do while other areas were worked on.
Realistically, however, it seems FFP restrictions mean we won’t be able to do anything to solve that issue externally – not until the summer at least. Dreams of Victor Osimhen, Ivan Toney or Dusan Vlahovic coming in this month will remain just that.
Instead, it seems as if we’re going to have to muddle through the remainder of the season with what we have and that means the manager will need to find a way to get his players firing again.
The measure of how well he has done will be made tomorrow, when Palace come to town. That first big chance will tell us much.
What’s certain is that we can’t go on missing chances as we have done. We have been fortunate to remain the top four mix over this turbulent period but, should we continue to stumble and stutter, that will quickly slip away from us.
Winning our home matches is going to be particularly important as we head into the second half of the season and that means dropping points against Palace isn’t an option – not if we are serious about a top four finish.
We have the talent, we have the ability, we have the track record – we now have to find the confidence to fit it all together.
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