Claudius But in the end we only added Sterling, who would generally be considered backup in the front positions, whilst losing Vieira and Smith-Rowe, the only real creative alternatives at 8 (not that either could be expected to fill Odegaard's boots in the worst case scenario).
Not addressing the forward positions seriously, and not addressing the lack of creative depth in (advanced) midfield might be the undoing of our season. I get the argument of only chasing the top end of the talent, but I don't believe for a second only two players could have improved us this year. Anyone suggesting so is talking nonsense.
Sterling hopefully brings an added spark, but we're now going to be so overly reliant on Saka for a period it could also be the downfall of his season.
The talk of need for a clinical striker is missing the point too. A clinical striker might bury the Martinelli chances, but that would only mask the deeper problems this team has with set-up and creativity. I like a hard-working team, I want a hard-working team, but if Martinelli and Saka have to run themselves into the ground to the detriment of their attacking output just so we can have a stable defensive set-up, Arteta hasn't found the right formula yet. This year or next just might start to whiff of Klopps's fatigue setting in.
