MyBettingSites had an opportunity to speak with former Arsenal and Swedish midfielder Anders Limpar who dived into his thoughts on all things Arsenal including Arsenal’s squad depth, Arsenal’s potential goalscoring issues and needing a killer up front to help steer the Gunners towards Premier League glory.
In this article:
- Smith-Rowe’s Fulham Resurgence: A Missed Opportunity for Arsenal?
- Is Gabriel Martinelli Underappreciated Despite Attacking Stagnation
- Is Viktor Gyokeres the answer to Arsenal’s Search For ‘Killer’ Striker
Smith-Rowe’s Fulham Resurgence: A Missed Opportunity for Arsenal?
Emile Smith Rowe remains a beloved name among Arsenal fans, celebrated as a Hale End academy graduate with undeniable talent. However, persistent injury troubles overshadowed his potential, culminating in a summer transfer to Fulham.
Since joining Marco Silva’s side, Smith Rowe has rediscovered the form that once made him a standout at Arsenal. Yet, the question lingers: Did Arsenal make a mistake in selling their homegrown star while loaning out Fabio Vieira?
Fabio Vieira’s £35 million transfer from Porto has also failed to deliver the expected returns due to injuries, restricting him to just five Premier League starts in two seasons. Despite Arsenal’s creative struggles this season, Limpar is unconvinced that keeping either player would have made a significant difference.
“I don’t think Arsenal or any of the fans will regret selling Smith-Rowe or loaning out Fabio Vieira, to be honest with you.”
Two great players. Smith-Rowe was struggling with injuries and other issues. Vieira was lacking playing time. I can see we have better players than both of them.”
Vieira made the switch to Arsenal from Porto in a £35 million transfer. However, his time at the Emirates Stadium has been hampered by injuries, limiting him to just five Premier League starts over two seasons. Meanwhile, Smith-Rowe is enjoying his new lease of life at Fulham, yet despite Arsenal’s struggles recently Limpar doesn’t see the need to have kept either Smith-Rowe nor Vieira.
“In my opinion, we would have only been utilising them as squad players and they’re too good to be that. So it was good for Arsenal to sell Smith-Rowe and loan out Vieira. We are in the money business and players come and go.
“It’s a bit harsh of me to say that we’re not missing them. We miss players who are that good but we have better players than them.”
“I feel a little bit sorry for Gabriel Martinelli”
Arsenal’s creativity issues have sparked rumours linking them with players like Nico Williams, Mohammed Kudus, and Anthony Gordon. However, the struggles extend to some of the club’s current stars. Gabriel Martinelli, once instrumental in Arsenal’s title push, has hit a rough patch.
Limpar acknowledges Martinelli’s dip in offensive output but praises his defensive contributions and overall work ethic.
“I feel a little bit sorry for Gabriel Martinelli because I know exactly what he’s going through. He hasn’t scored that many goals.
“But if you look at the whole picture. If you look at Martinelli and Saka for example. Saka, he’s a point player – he scores and provides assists. Martinelli, he’s the same but not in the same range. If you look at them, who’s taking responsibility in defence? It’s Gabriel Martinelli.”
While Saka continues to shine with goals and assists, Limpar highlights the defensive workload Martinelli has taken on, which may explain his struggles in attack.
“When you look at a winger, you always look at if he scores or not. You have to look at Martinelli’s work rate for the team and it’s a hundred percent better than Saka’s. Saka is a world class player who needs to go forward.”
For Limpar, Martinelli’s defensive commitment deserves recognition, even if his offensive contributions haven’t matched expectations.
“I feel a little bit sorry for Martinelli because he’s tremendous for the team. So you shouldn’t just look at his goal contributions. You should look at the whole picture. His work-rate in the defence, setting up the ball for others and scoring occasionally.
“It is like this when you’re an attacking player for a top team like Arsenal, Man City or Liverpool. You always look at the points. You need to be end product players. Martinelli is an end product player but he is taking so much defensive responsibility, he’s lacking the end product. I like him as a player and we shouldn’t criticise him as much as we do.”
Martinelli has earned admiration among fans for his relentless effort and team-first mentality, something Limpar believes is invaluable to the squad.
“Martinelli’s underappreciated for sure. He’s not the best defender. Saka is not the best defender. But they are unbelievable going forward. Out of the two, Martinelli has the bigger heart for the team. And again it’s a bit harsh of me to say that because I love Saka, he’s one of the top players in the Premier League. He should just go forward. Martinelli has so much heart, he’s working his balls off for the team. You shouldn’t forget that.”
Is Viktor Gyokeres the answer to Arsenal’s Search For ‘Killer’ Striker?
Arsenal’s lack of a clinical striker has been a recurring concern. With links to players like Viktor Gyökeres, Alexander Isak, Victor Osimhen, and Jonathan David, the club appears eager to find a solution.
Mikel Arteta has experimented with alternatives, including deploying Kai Havertz as a false nine. While Havertz has earned Limpar’s admiration, the former Gunner stresses that Arsenal needs a natural finisher.
“When Gabriel Jesus signed he was the bee’s knees. He was scoring goals for fun. In pre pre-season and into the first few months of the season he got his injuries.
“Havertz isn’t a striker in my opinion but he has done a tremendous job so he shouldn’t be blamed either. But I agree with Ian Wright that Arsenal don’t have a killer and they need a killer.”
The big question is whether Sporting CP forward Gyokeres is the killer they have been looking for. He has been linked with a move to Arsenal after scoring 23 times in 18 matches so far this season and Limpar puts Gyokeres in the same bracket as the likes of Ian Wright, Robert Lewandowski and Thierry Henry in being the killer Arsenal need.
“In 1991 we had Alan Smith, Paul Merson and Kevin Campbell who were scoring for fun. With the ‘Invincibles’ they had Thierry Henry. To win titles in England you need a killer. A Lewandowski, a Gyokeres, an Henry, an Ian Wright.
“Right now Kai Havertz is one of the best players in the Premier League but he’s not a killer. We need Havertz to score 30 goals like Haaland. He is a killer. At the moment we don’t have a killer in the penalty area.”
Arsenal are set to host Nottingham Forest this weekend at the Emirates Stadium, in a match they’ll know they have to pick up three points from if they’re to stay in touch with league-leaders Liverpool. If you’re looking to find out about the best Premier League betting offers, then head over to our dedicated page, which has you covered with everything you need to know.
