Arsenal’s failure to buy a striker and a winger during the January transfer window has finally landed the club in a very awkward position. The club has currently lost Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz to injury.
To make it worse, all these are forward players and Arsenal now only has Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri and Raheem Sterling to rely on as their main forward players who can score goals and help the club to win its games.
There is however another route that Mikel Arteta can take so that he can get some good strikers. The following are the Arsenal Academy players who can fill the void that has been left by the senior players in the forward line.
Nathan Butler-Oyedeji is very much ready to wear the shoes of Kai Havertz and lead the Arsenal front line. He is a natural striker who can also play as a winger. He has featured for the first team and Mikel Arteta gave him some few minutes in the Champions League clash against Dinamo Zagreb.
Ismael Kabia is also with the team and he is also a winger, he can also be a perfect replacement for the injured wingers and he can also be a good backup just in case of anything. He is a natural winger but he has also played as a striker in several occasions.
Charles Sagoe Jr has also returned to the club from Shrewsbury where he was on loan. He is also another good winger who had shown his potential in the few games that Mikel Arteta allowed him to take part in.
The Arsenal Under 21 also has a very lethal striker who is known as Khayon Edwards. He has so far scored 21 goals in his past 48 games for the team.
There are also some good wingers in the Under 21 squad like Seb Ferdinand and Osman Kamara who are also doing great things.
It just needs the courage and trust of Mikel Arteta to bring the young players on board and see the magic that they can do for the club. Remember these are young, energetic and hungry players. They all want to play for the senior team and they want to show the whole world what they are also made of and what they can offer to the club.
The Manager should take the risk and give them some game time so that it can boost their confidence and start firing for the club. These are the rare opportunities that the club can capitalize on and know how good the young players are.
It will be very unfortunate if other clubs will send their scouts and buy them cheaply for their own gain. Mikel Arteta should now drop his ego and show some support to the young players by showing them that they are also valued in the club and that, they also have something to offer and something to bring on the table.
This life is about risking and you may find out that, Arsenal’s striking problems can be fixed by one of these young Academy players.
