Arsenal: Lack of striker not the issue for Mikel Arteta's side, says Jamie Carragher - it's the lack of creativity

The prevailing view is Arsenal must sign a ruthless striker this summer - but Jamie Carragher explains their real attacking problem on Monday Night Football.

Here, we break down their final-third issues and how they must address it if they are to be successful in the Premier League title race next season…

No player in double figures

Kai Havertz is Arsenal's top scorer in the Premier League this season with nine goals. Gabriel Martinelli (six) and Bukayo Saka (five) are next on the list.

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Two seasons ago, Arsenal finished with four players in double figures. Last season there were three.

"But the problem they have is not a finishing problem," says Carragher. "It's a creation problem.

"They don't create enough chances. That's the biggest problem that they've got right now."

Arsenal's finishing stats are the best in the Premier League…

Arsenal have scored 20 goals MORE than their expected goals (xG) total from the past two seasons suggests they should have.

That's the best overperformance in the Premier League and undermines the idea Arsenal aren't clinical from openings in and around the box.

Arsenal have scored 143 goals since the start of last season, with their xG total at 122.5

Liverpool - who have scored 155 - have an xG of 155.4 in that period.

…But their chance creation is on a par with Crystal Palace

Arsenal's xG figures this season back up Carragher's chance-creation criticism.

The Gunners are creating chances in volume and quality equivalent to 11th-placed Crystal Palace, and only marginally more than 12th-placed Brentford.

Newcastle, Tottenham, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Liverpool all have higher xG totals.

Arsenal's forward options have the capacity to take chances but they aren't getting enough of them.

Would Haaland make a difference?

Carragher picked out Arsenal's best openings in their recent Premier League games against Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and West Ham. They were not clear-cut openings, which he says shows a top striker would not necessarily have affected the outcomes of those games, which Arsenal failed to win.

"I keep going back to people saying they need a number nine," says Carragher. "If Arsenal would have had a number nine - let's say Erling Haaland was playing centre-forward for Arsenal this season - would they have scored more goals?

"Of course they would, because he's a top striker and a great finisher, but on the basis of those three games I've shown you, the best chances they had, Haaland doesn't make any difference. He does not."

Slow build-up and pragmatic - why Arsenal struggle in open play

Former Southampton boss Russell Martin joined Carragher in the MNF studio and explained Arsenal's play around the box at Manchester United on Sunday was slow and predictable because Thomas Partey wasn't taking up central positions between the lines to allow for the ball to be shuttled quickly across the pitch, and there were no runs in behind.

"For Manchester United, it's quite comfortable," he said, and it led to Arsenal going wide and crossing the ball which, Martin explains, isn't playing to their strengths.

Martin says Arsenal's open-play issue is also part of a trade-off for their strong defence.

"I think what [Arteta's] done with the Arsenal team is incredible - mentality-wise, they can go man for man all over the pitch and they've recruited power. So they've become pragmatic and the best team defensively, and the numbers back that up with the expected goals against.

"Then, of course, you lose something. When you decide, 'we're going to be based off this', maybe you lose a bit of creativity or you place less reliance on that when you're recruiting.

"So now something might have to give again to go back the other way, to try and build up play, exploit teams and open teams up a little bit, because maybe they've lost a little bit of that by becoming really hard to beat."

Set-piece threat has fallen away

Arsenal's attacking struggles in open play have also been compounded by a drop-off in set-piece threat.

Between August and January, Arsenal scored 12 set-piece goals in 21 Premier League games. They were averaging a goal from every 13 corners and a mural was made outside Emirates Stadium of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover.

But in the seven league games since, they have failed to score any goal from a set-piece situation.

That's zero goals from their last 52 corners in the Premier League and 92 across all competitions.

Carragher said: "In terms of set-pieces, what we saw at the start of the season, this team was brilliant, it was amazing. I'd never seen anything like it before.

"But you can't have that threat off every set-piece. It's impossible and eventually you will come back to basically what other teams are doing, or maybe one of the best teams in the league, but not far and away the best team.

"They were too reliant on set-pieces and once the set-pieces aren't as successful, have they got enough to score goals and break opposition defences down?"

So is the solution actually to sign more creative players?

"Forget bringing in a number nine, the first thing they might have to do is [sign] more creative players," says Carragher.

"The fact that it looks like they're going to buy [Martin] Zubimendi in the summer and maybe replace Partey in the holding midfield position, you're getting a different profile of player.

"That first step to actually being more creative next season will help them be a bit more competitive in the Premier League."

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