Arsenal were far from their best at Craven Cottage as Fulham drew 1-1 with Mikel Arteta’s side.
Just as Arsenal’s form started to turn around, the Gunners dropped points in the Premier League once more.
Arsenal drew 1-1 with Fulham on the road in a game that presented several glaring issues for Arteta to address.
One thing that didn’t help was Arsenal’s defensive injuries however, that only hammered home how much work the manager must do to bolster his squad.
- READ MORE: Five things you may have missed in Fulham vs Arsenal, including Martin Odegaard injury warning
Fulham draw presented Mikel Arteta with a transfer message
After missing out on the Premier League title by only two points last season, there was a feeling that Arteta was nearing the summit of his project.
To support Arsenal’s chasing down of Manchester City, it was clear that a strong summer in the transfer window was needed, something that was never delivered.
Arsenal’s summer transfer window was eventful but not necessarily for the right reasons, as the draw to Fulham portrayed.
Replenishing the depth in key areas was essential to provide much-needed competition to regular starters and now, Arteta is witnessing the repercussions of not navigating the market appropriately.
Here are five players who sent a transfer message to the Arsenal manager during the Gunners’ draw with Fulham.
Gabriel Martinelli
Arteta was bold by making a change to his attack, dropping Gabriel Martinelli to welcome Leandro Trossard on the left side.
Martinelli was ineffective against Manchester United which led to him dropping to the bench and his luck unfortunately continued at Craven Cottage.
While the winger wasn’t entirely bad when coming off the bench for a 30 minute cameo, the 23-year-old made a costly error and a needless one that only emphasised his lack of maturity.
Paul Merson slammed Martinelli for his actions in Arsenal’s disallowed match-winner, as the Brazilian was carelessly caught offside.
A top quality winger is needed to compete with both Martinelli and Trossard to raise the standards on the left side of Arsenal’s attack, and it’s becoming hard to ignore.
Kai Havertz
On the subject of players who offer something but rarely enough comes Kai Havertz.
Havertz was criticised by Arsenal fans for his display against Fulham, consistently finding himself in the wrong position and failing when it came to finishing chances.
The strike department has been a glaring issue for Arsenal since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s departure yet still, Havertz is leading the line.
A sense of urgency is required as excuses will not cut it for the Gunners with respect to winning silverware.
Gabriel Jesus
The same goes for Gabriel Jesus, who was signed by Arteta in 2022 in a bid to bolster the squad’s options in the number nine role.
Arsenal signed Man City’s used goods and lo and behold, that’s the level of striker the Gunners received.
Against Fulham, Jesus showed little IQ as a centre-forward, emphasising how unreliable the Brazilian is in front of goal.
Having two strikers who are sporadic scorers is not enough for Arsenal, with the performance of the forwards surely alerting Arteta in the London derby.
Jorginho
In a different circumstance comes Jorginho, who was called into action in midfield as Thomas Partey covered at right-back.
The 32-year-old is a passer like no other when given time on the ball but his lack of physicality is unacceptable in the role Arteta expects of him.
While it’s thought that Jorginho could leave in the summer, more had to be done in the summer to recruit his successor, with it clear that there are some doubts over Mikel Merino.
The summer signing is yet to wow in an Arsenal shirt, with Jorginho’s pace-deprived showing at Craven Cottage emphasising the need for a central midfielder.
Jakub Kiwior
Just as Jorginho was called into action, Jakub Kiwior was too, filling in for Gabriel Magalhaes at centre-back.
Kiwior was at fault for Fulham’s opening goal, displaying a concerning lack of understanding when it came to defending Raul Jimenez.
While Arteta will be more than satisfied with his central pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba, the manager must do more to recruit sufficient backups to the duo.
Kiwior has been linked with an exit ahead of the January window and regardless of whether the 24-year-old goes, Arsenal must search for his replacement.
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