We’re well past the half-way point of this month and we’ve still yet to see any additions to the squad.
In fairness, hardly anybody in the league has managed to add players in this window but that shouldn’t serve as an excuse for Mikel Arteta and company, our need is perhaps greater than any other side.
We’ve been lurching from one game to the next over the last month, running on empty, relying on instinct to get us through and while it’s brought a measure of success in the league, it’s come at a huge cost to the squad.
On an almost daily basis we seem to lose another player to injury and our already narrow options narrow yet further. Round holes open up and yet more square pegs must be found to fill them. With things as they are, it’s a minor miracle we haven’t yet entirely capitlulated.
One thing is certain, though, Aston Villa won’t much care when they come to the Emirates later today. Our injury woes are our problem. They will not doubt see this as an opportunity to repeat last year’s feat when they managed a Premier League double over us. In fact, the defeat they inflicted on us at the Emirates last spring basically scuppered the slim hopes we had of pushing Manchester City all the way in the title race.
I seem to remember also that day that we missed a whole host of chances to score before Villa eventually broke clear.
We don’t want to see a repeat of that this weekend.
To ensure that, we need to find an efficiency in front of goal that has long eluded us. Though we ultimately beat Tottenham 2-1, the performance itself left a great deal to be desired in the finishing department. It wasn’t quite as egregious as the Newcastle and Manchester United outings but it wasn’t far off.
We simply have to be better.
While Ange Postecoglu was naive enough to come and have a go at the Emirates, you can bet every you have that Unai Emery will do no such thing. It’s not in his nature and never will be. He will look to the two cup defeats we suffered over the last few weeks as the model, and who can blame him?
It is vital, therefore, that we make the absolute most of every opportunity. In Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran, Villa have two excellent finishers and you can be certain they won’t need three or four chances to score, they’ll do it first time. We must be as ruthless.
That said, it’s difficult to ignore how thin our options are now, especially in attack. We’re relying on Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling and one of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard to do the business. That’s a big ask, particularly given the form Havertz and Sterling are in.
If we are due any sort of luck in this campaign, or at least a rebalancing of the misfortune we have experienced so far, now might be a good time. Today, the performance might not matter, today might just be all about the result, however we can get it.
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