The overall squad is not one I have issues with, although I think its bottom heavy with too many defensive minded players and not enough attack minded ones
I still think we miss that Vieira like player who can link defence and attack but I think that player doesn’t really exist anymore, I think again it’s more the way we set up…the inverted full back system to strangle the life out of games is for me unnecessary.
What we need is additions up front to make us more efficient. The main problem especially at home is having to over commit and getting caught on the break (50% of the goals we’ve conceded at home in the league this season have come that way)
This is for me partly because we haven’t got a player who is good enough to put away chances, and we aren’t playing in a way that stretches the defence of the opposition. I think the players we have available are good enough to do the latter if we employ them that way, whilst I did not think signing a left back a priority I think Calafiori is a good player, he is good at interceptions and he’s got decent pace to bomb down the left and dovetail with Martinelli. Whilst not as quick, White has a good understanding with Saka and is a good crosser of the ball.
If we play Partey in a more advanced position rather than Rice we create space through the middle as well. Yes like any team we suffer when our best players are injured, but we need Captain Black to stop putting square pegs in round holes
I think overall the squad we have today is far far better than the one Arteta inherited, but it bloody well should be with the money we’ve spent. What we need now is a clinical finisher and I think this team would be able to both defend a lead and play in a way that we could tear a team to shreds on the counter, if Arteta actually set us up that way