Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has reaffirmed his love and trust in the attackers at his disposal following the Gunners' excruciating penalty-shootout loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup third round.
Arteta's team came into their second straight knockout contest on the back of a painful 2-0 EFL Cup semi-final first-leg loss to Newcastle United, where they registered 3.76 Expected Goals (xG) but failed to find the back of the net.
Arsenal and Newcastle's attacking differences were laid bare on that evening, as Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz both wasted golden openings while Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon clinically converted their chances.
North London lightning struck twice for Arsenal in that regard on Sunday, where Martin Odegaard had a penalty saved by Altay Bayindir and Havertz spurned some more glorious chances as the 10 men of Man United forced penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Havertz's nightmare evening concluded with the German missing the fatal spot kick that sent Arsenal out, as Ruben Amorim's men scored all five of their penalties in the shootout to set up a fourth-round tie with Leicester City.
Arteta launches impassioned defence of Arsenal attackers
© Imago
As well as Havertz's alarming wastefulness, Arsenal lost yet another attacker to injury as Gabriel Jesus came off on a stretcher with a knee problem, and Arteta has conceded that his issue looks severe.
Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri are also in the treatment room with respective hamstring and muscular injuries, and pleas from Gooners to the board to sign a new attacker this month are growing louder by the week.
However, Arteta once again suggested that the solution to Arsenal's offensive woes lies internally rather than externally, telling reporters in his post-game press conference: "We missed from various ways, from different players.
"I understand guys that [point of view], but I cannot love our players more and we very much focus on the players we have to perform at the highest level. The rest is not in our hands, not in my hands."
With Jesus, Nwaneri and Saka on the sidelines, Arsenal are left with Havertz, Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Raheem Sterling as their senior offensive options, while 22-year-old Nathan Butler-Oyedeji was also among the substitutes on Sunday evening.
Could Arsenal realistically sign a striker in January?
© Iconsport
Arteta and co took a gamble over the summer by offloading all of Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira, one that has arguably not paid off despite their second-placed standing in the Premier League table.
After netting a club-record 91 goals in the top flight last season, Arsenal are on track to score 17 fewer this time around; 39 goals from 20 matches so far works out at 1.95 goals per Premier League game.
However, Gooners praying for a marquee attacking addition this month should not get their hopes up, as long-term targets such as Viktor Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko and Isak will surely prove impossible to obtain.
A Jonathan David or Leroy Sane might not be beyond the realm of possibility - both players are in the last six months of their deals - but do not expect the Arsenal board to make a permanent stop-gap signing in the winter if a big-money deal is there to be done in the summer.
Then again, Arsenal resisted the urge to replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang midway through the 2021-22 season, and they just missed out on the top four. By resisting the urge to solve their attacking dilemma now, they may miss out on the title too.
Ben Knapton
