In recent days there has been a lot of talk about Arsenal’s apparent need to sign a new striker.
However, Kai Havertz, the man Mikel Arteta entrusted to lead his team’s line this season, scored his 14th of the season here on Wednesday night.
There are those at Arsenal who will argue that the club’s need for a new centre-forward is not as pressing as detractors would have you believe.
Havertz’s figures constitute a fairly convincing argument in that sense.
Here at the Emirates, the German international saw Arsenal’s second goal of the night as Arteta’s side claimed a crucial victory over Dinamo Zagreb to virtually secure their automatic passage to the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Of course, it is no secret that Arsenal are actively working in the market with a view to signing a new striker this month.
It remains to be seen whether they can successfully achieve one of their main objectives. Still, any new striker will have his work cut out for him to improve Havertz’s attacking rate.
The disappointment of dropping two points against Aston Villa on Saturday lingered here before kick-off.
Time will tell how costly it is to waste that 2-0 lead. However, such setbacks in the Premier League have become all too frequent for the Gunners this season.
Fortunately, their form in the Champions League has been considerably more consistent.
A victory against Dinamo Zagreb would have allowed the Gunners to take a giant step towards automatic qualification for the round of 16 of the competition.
Their night started with a bang; They went ahead within two minutes: Declan Rice scored with a half-volley after Kai Havertz cushioned Gabriel Martinelli’s square pass.
Shortly after his goal, Rice, whose goal was his first in the Champions League, was pelted with plastic cups by traveling fans as he took Arsenal’s first corner of the night. One would imagine they weren’t offering the midfielder celebratory champagne.
Fabio Cannarvaro’s expression was a picture, as he blushed his cheeks as if to say ‘this could be a long night’.
In fact, Gabriel Magalhaes should have scored the second in the 15th minute, inevitably from a corner kick, but the defender’s imposing header went wide.
As expected, Arsenal’s set pieces caused Dinamo problems throughout the first half.
But then Martin Baturina quickly found Arsenal’s goal in the 32nd minute after Jakub Kiwior’s flirtation in possession before Jurrien Timber was next to be caught inside his own half to once again leave his teammates to rush to the rescue.
And suddenly, a night that seemed to be going smoothly began to turn out to be quite uncomfortable for Arsenal.
One wonders what William Saliba, sitting on the Arsenal bench as he recovers from a minor hamstring strain, made of those late first-half errors.
Arsenal’s defense will never be the same without the brilliance of Saliba, and their poor finish to the first 45 minutes last night is a case in point.
Arteta hopes to have the French defender available for the game against Wolves this weekend. It won’t be a minute soon enough for Arteta.
After his team’s terrible start, Cannavaro left the field at half-time with hope intact.
Arteta, as long as his team was ahead, would have felt uncomfortable. They enjoyed 61 percent of the ball in the first half, but only managed two shots on goal despite numerous chances.
Missed opportunities are becoming the story of Arsenal’s season. No wonder the natives are desperate for reinforcements to attack this month.
Raheem Sterling and Timber were booked in quick succession at the start of the second half to add to Arteta’s concern.
Dinamo were brilliant after the restart. Chaining passes and finding clever combinations to get around Arsenal’s midfield, it seemed the visitors were feeling something else.
Arteta felt it too, making his first substitutions just in the 58th minute: Thomas Partey and Ethan Nwaneri, already fit, replaced Timber and Sterling, respectively.
Nwaneri’s performance, in particular, generated a deafening noise among the home fans.
A lot is expected of the teenage prodigy roaming these parts of north London. In fact, Arsenal needed a boost here as they let their early dominance slip.
But, as in the first half, Arsenal’s supremacy in possession did not translate into clear-cut opportunities.
Finally, in the 66th minute, the locals scored the second to calm the doubts.
Martinelli’s ball into the area was perfect, Havertz’s header was right.
Of course, Arsenal gave up a two-goal lead on Saturday. But this is really over.
Rice missed a glorious opportunity with a close-range shot to score his second of the night before captain Martin Odegaard completed the scoring in stoppage time.
You’d imagine it won’t be so easy against Wolves on Saturday.