What's Behind Arsenal's Struggling Attack and How Can Arteta Revive It?

Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column where Nick Wright combines data and opinion to shed light on key Premier League stories. This week, we examine Arsenal's issues in attack and how Mikel Arteta can address them. Despite their first-leg lead against Sporting, Arsenal fell back on their defense in the Champions League quarter-final second leg, showcasing vulnerability in recent games. However, their performance against Sporting highlighted the need for improvement in attack. Arteta's approach has been scrutinized, with questions about his perceived aversion to risk and potential neglect of open-play chance creation in favor of set-pieces. Injuries have limited Arteta's options, but the need for changes in forward areas became clearer against Sporting. The front three of Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli, and Viktor Gyokeres has not worked, and their selection leaves Arsenal lacking technical security to retain possession. According to Opta, Gyokeres has lost possession 246 times in the Premier League, with the second-highest rate of touches ending in possession losses. Martinelli and Madueke also rank high on the list. Manchester City, by contrast, do not have a single player over the 30 percent mark. The game changed with Arsenal's substitutions, with players like Havertz, Leandro Trossard, and Gabriel Jesus completing 89 percent of their passes. Arteta's hand may be forced on his team selection, with Madueke a doubt for Sunday's game. Havertz can provide an outlet, having endured an injury-hit season but showing effectiveness as a focal point against Sporting. He won more aerial duels and completed more passes than Gyokeres. Factoring in the last two seasons, Havertz's superiority to Gyokeres in duels and ball retention shines through. His deployment up front on Sunday could help give Arsenal's attack balance. Manchester City's quality means Arsenal will need to fall back on their defense, but raising the technical level of their attack could hold the key to a positive result.