‘Flair’ – Theo Walcott sends clear warning shot to Mikel Arteta about Arsenal style that must change

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Arsenal have struggled in attacking areas in recent weeks, prompting criticism for Mikel Arteta’s side’s conservative approach.

The Gunners sit six points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand and have scored eight goals fewer than their north-west counterparts.

Recent results have shown struggles that the North London outfit have had in breaking teams down and has sparked debate around the quality of the North Londoners’ forwards, as well as Arteta’s tactics.

The Spaniard has created a side that excels on the defensive side of the game and are astute from set pieces but lack the firepower in the final third to consistently hurt teams at times.

Having drawn six league matches this campaign, it’s clear that Arsenal struggle to get over the line in tight games, eliciting concern from Theo Walcott.

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Walcott warns Arteta about Arsenal’s approach

In the latter years of Arsene Wenger’s reign, Arsenal were synonymous with fluid attacking football and scoring lots of goals, but ultimately looking vulnerable defensively.

Under Arteta, the Gunners have matured into a much more well-rounded side, boasting the best defensive record in the league last season and so far this campaign.

However, question marks have begun to be raised over Arsenal’s ability to win the league with their current cohort of attacking players and with the manner in which they play.

Speaking on Sky Sports, former Arsenal winger Walcott questioned whether Arteta’s team have leaned into their defensive solidity too much, at the expensive of their attacking play.

“I’d say it’s flipped on its head at times, when I was playing it was said that the defence was never good enough,” Walcott said.

“I’m not saying the striker unit isn’t good enough but now we’ve gone away from we’re going to concede less goals, I think Arsenal have only conceded 19 [goals] in the last 18 in the league this year.

“So for me, they’ve gone for be hard to beat but now we’re not actually influencing games like we have done.

“That flair… that’s what Arsenal are known for, don’t go away from that and I think we are slowly starting to go away from that.”

Arsenal need a forward signing to ignite their attack

Walcott’s comments certainly are reflected in the statistics.

Arsenal have scored fewer goals than Liverpool and Tottenham, while they’ve amassed just the seventh most expected goals in the Premier League.

Evidently in need of a forward reinforcement, particularly in the absence of the injured Bukayo Saka, the Gunners are beginning to be linked to a number of players.

Nico Williams is open to a Premier League move, and is widely understood to be a long-term target for Arteta.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have submitted a £17 million bid for Botafogo striker Igor Jesus, who has scored five goals in 16 starts for the Brazilian side this season.