Mikel Arteta says Arsenal must find a way this summer to drastically increase their goal output if they are to become title contenders, suggesting they will require 90 or 100 to challenge for the Premier League.
Arsenal are favourites for fourth place but have fallen short against Manchester City and Liverpool when, despite strong performances, they lacked cutting edge in the penalty area. That was evident in Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat by Jürgen Klopp’s side, who have scored 75 goals to Arsenal’s 43 this season, and Arteta knows finding finishers is a priority for his side to evolve.
“To be with the top teams this season you need to score 90 to 100 goals at least,” he said. “Somehow you need those goals in the team. Don’t ask me how, but you need them. They have to come. That contribution, how it’s done and how possible it is to happen, you have to find the right pieces to do it. But it’s a non-negotiable.”
Last season Manchester City won the title with 83 goals but, in the previous campaign, they came second with 102 while Liverpool scored 85. In 2019-20 City came top with 95 and Liverpool second with 89; Arteta’s point essentially stands and, according to his logic, Arsenal will probably have to find another 30 goals.
“If you look at the history of [successful] football teams, they always have that,” he said when it was put to him that players who could guarantee such a return will come with a hefty price tag. “You look at the Barcelona team that won six titles; they scored 100 goals for three years. If you don’t need that then you need to have 30 clean sheets. In the last 11 games, if we can score 11 goals and concede zero we’re going to win 11 games. Or we can score 35 and concede, and we’re still going to have 33 points. But in a very different way.”
Arsenal’s recruitment last summer focused on youth, to thus-far successful effect, but Arteta anticipates a shifting of the dial this summer and suggested more ready-made options may come into play.
“There are certain things that we have to achieve in the summer that are not always especially age-related, but things we want to add to the squad,” he said. “There are a lot of topics that are very important and we have to find the right piece. When we find that player, maybe the top priority won’t be the age in that position. Maybe in another one, yes. So we’ll have to get that right.”
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Arteta spoke of having “more winners in the team that can now take that drive they have, the experience to do that, and they can be contagious to the rest of the team”.
Arsenal travel to Aston Villa for a Saturday lunchtime fixture that, coming less than 72 hours after the Liverpool game, caused Arteta to rail at the Premier League’s scheduling this week. “I get all the points and how everybody tries to explain the situations,” he said, continuing the theme. “It cannot affect one club, that’s what I’m saying. If there are more involved I think we have to share that responsibility and try to do it with equity so the integrity of the competition is always there.”