Why Mikel Arteta should look to summer signing to fill Arsenal’s attacking void – and it’s not Mikel Merino

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Arsenal’s current injury crisis means manager Mikel Arteta needs to get creative to ensure his team keeps pace with Liverpool in the Premier League title race.

Kai Havertz was the latest forward to suffer an injury last week, the German ruled out for the rest of the season after tearing his hamstring by blocking a shot during Arsenal’s training camp in Dubai.

With Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli already sidelined, Arteta is left with just Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri as his only fit attacking options.

Those three players started the 2-0 win at Leicester on Saturday, but it was only when Arteta introduced summer signing Mikel Merino in place of Sterling that Arsenal finally broke the deadlock.

It is another summer signing, however, that could prove to be a more potent option at centre forward, should Arteta give him a chance in that position.

Why Riccardo Calafiori should be used as a makeshift nine

Arsenal signed Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna for £42m in July 2024. Since then, the defender has enjoyed a mixed time in North London.

Calafiori has made just 14 appearances for the Gunners in the Premier League, with five of these coming as a substitute.

Within the 14 league games he has played, however, the Italian has scored two crucial, and cultured, goals.

The first of these came away at Manchester City last September. With Arsenal 1-0 down to the champions and under intense pressure, Calafiori equalised with a beautiful side-footed finish, stroking the Gunners’ level from just outside the 18-yard-box.

The second came against Wolves at Molineux in January. Down to 10 men following Lewis-Skelly’s controversial sending-off, Calafiori broke the deadlock late in the second half with a composed strike on the half-volley as Arsenal went on to claim a vital 3 points.

Add to this his clinical finish away at Girona in the final round of group games in the Champions League that was unfortunately ruled out for offside, and the Italian clearly has a knack for finishing.

Indeed, this is backed up by the stats: according to Opta Analyst, the 22-year-old has outperformed his xG by 1.33 in the Premier League so far this season, with his two goals scored registering a combined 0.12 xG only.

Arteta hints at using Calafiori as a striker

Clearly, Calafiori’s manager has also noticed his natural goalscoring ability.

Arteta, speaking in his press conference on Friday before the game against Leicester, said using the left back as a centre-forward was “an option.”

Responding to Martin Keown’s question of whether Calafiori could play as a striker in his pre-match interview on Saturday, Arteta added that using a defender as a forward “has been done in the past” as defenders “have the capacity to become a threat, especially when the context of the game is with a lot of density in the box against low blocks.”

For now, though, it seems Merino will be the option Arteta deploys to lead Arsenal’s attacking line. Despite having never played as a striker before, Merino performed admirably against Leicester, coming off the bench to score Arsenal’s two goals and win the game for his side.

Nevertheless, down to the bare bones in attacking areas, and with Raheem Sterling having struggled for form since his move from Chelsea in the summer, Calafiori may indeed be a useful attacking alternative that Arteta utilises in the coming weeks.