#69 - Adding the 'Ez' factor to this window could be pivotal
Arsenal have a lot to do to catch up with Liverpool's attack and a signing like Eze could prove the difference
Arsenal look ready to make a statement in the summer market and if they are serious about winning a major title next season, that’s what they must do.
Liverpool’s summer has been emphatic. They didn’t just win the league – they’ve extended Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk, maintaining their elite spine, and they’ve added Florian Wirtz for over £100m. Wirtz, at just 22, is already one of the most inventive and dangerous final-third players in Europe. He joins a Liverpool attack that was already more dynamic and balanced than Arsenal’s. Simply put: they’ve taken a strength and made it stronger.
Arsenal, by contrast, ended the season looking a touch short in terms of firepower. The midfield has evolved well, the defence is elite, but the front line lacked the unpredictability and one-vs-one threat needed to unpick elite defences consistently. Gabriel Martinelli regressed. Bukayo Saka carried a heavy burden. It’s clear the club needs to bring in more final-third productivity to match a side like Liverpool - and prevent overload injuries like we saw last season.
The solution? It looks like Mikel Arteta and the new recruitment setup led by Andrea Berta are targeting three attacking profiles: a central/left-sided creative force (Eze, Simons), a new striker, and an additional winger. These aren’t squad fillers – they’re statement additions to really elevate the attack.
Long-time readers of this newsletter will know I’ve been banging the drum for a player like Eze or Xavi Simons for over a year now. A versatile creator who can glide past players, link midfield to attack, and share the creative burden with Odegaard. Signing Eze would be a dream – he’s not just Premier League proven, but stylistically perfect for what we’ve lacked. He can thrive in Arteta’s structured system while offering rare individual flair.
Add to that a winger who can elevate the left side and offer Saka the rest and competition he desperately needs, and suddenly the front line looks fresher, more flexible – and far more dangerous.
The good news is that the funds should be there. Arsenal can raise money from the likes of Reiss Nelson, Fabio Vieira – who simply hasn’t worked out – and perhaps even Leandro Trossard, if the right offer comes in. Trossard has delivered in moments, but he turns 31 this year, and Arsenal may want a younger, more explosive profile.
Liverpool have made their move. Arsenal must follow – not with panic buys, but with the kind of targeted, ambitious signings that signal we’re not just here to compete. We’re here to win.
Arsenal dropped a lot of points in games where they failed to score, or managed just one goal. It’s clear that adding more firepower and a ‘X/Ez’ factor is needed to bridge the gap.
If Arsenal were to sign a striker, let’s say that Sesko, in this example, Eze and Rodrygo, they could afford to sell Trossard and still have really improved their attacking options. Here’s a mini depth chart for the front five players.
The first thing I think when I look at this is how many tactical variations it would give Arteta and his coaching staff. The likes of Sesko and Havertz could play in tandem, you could invert on both wings with Saka and Eze and play with overlapping full backs, play Eze and Odegaard together when trying to unpick a deep defence, finally rest Odegaard when he is not on form, or jaded. This is what an elite set of attackers looks like and there’s so many potential combinations you can make out of this.
Arsenal haven’t yet adapted their attack to the five sub and two game every week era - a summer with three attacking additions like this would give Arsenal the depth required to deal with that schedule and have the tools from the bench to make an impact.
It might feel like a big ask for a trio of big attacking signings in one window, but Arsenal sat on their hands for the last two windows and have paid the price. Through cost-effective defensive signings like Kepa, Cristian Norgaard and Cristhian Mosquera - Arsenal should still have plenty of dry powder to splash on the attack. July will be a critical months in negotiations, with the manager keen for any news signings to be integrated early so they are ready to help assist the team in a tough opening run of fixtures.
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No way Arsenal will make a huge financial effort to get Eze just to have him as a backup for Odegaard or 3rd option for LW as per the above image. If he comes, there are plans for him to be a starter.
Eze, Rodrygo and a striker in the same summer? I highly doubt this. Given Eze and Rodrygo's versatility, I'd be happy with any combination of 2 out of these 3 :)
UTA!