Jeff Stelling does not see Arsenal winning the Premier League title this season with their current attacking trio
TalkSPORT pundit Jeff Stelling has claimed that he does not see Arsenal winning the Premier League title this season with their current attacking trio.
Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka ended last season with a combined 40 league goals between them, but they have combined for just 11 goals with half of the campaign gone.
Arsenal have struggled at both ends of the pitch and have secured just one win in their last five league games, and Stelling is not convinced that they have what it takes to win the title.
“They had 10 more points, eight more goals, and had conceded three times fewer at the same stage last season,” the former Sky Sports pundit said.
“They didn’t win the league last season even when they were that much better off. I don’t think they’ve been the same team this season. They should be better than they were last season with the addition of Declan Rice. And I love Declan Rice, but I just think they should be that much better and they haven’t been.
“The problem is, if you look at that front three – Martinelli, Jesus and Saka – between them, they have 11 Premier League goals this season, you are not going to win the title with that sort of output.”
Arsenal have dropped their standards this term despite heading into Christmas top of the league, and while injuries have not helped them, most of their players have struggled to replicate their form from last season.
Martin Odegaard has not reached the heights of the last campaign, with four goals and three assists to his name so far after he ended 2022-23 with 15 league goals and seven assists.
Declan Rice and William Saliba have been the standout performers this term, but playing week in, week out since August is starting to take a toll on them, and they struggled in the recent back-to-back losses.
The Gunners bolstered their squad by signing Leandro Trossard, Jorginho and Jakub Kiwior in January 2023, and they need to make similar additions this month to rejuvenate themselves during the second half of the campaign.
The players also need to step up going forward, and the upcoming break could come in handy as manager Mikel Arteta looks to finally get everyone firing on all cylinders again.
