Arsenal have been warned that they need to be “very careful” about improving their finishing after they only scraped a win over Brentford at the weekend.
The Gunners created plenty of chances but only managed a 2-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium, and while Michael Thomas saw the positives in the performance, the legendary former midfielder also urged his old club to be more clinical.
“I think the whole display was very convincing. Arsenal created a lot of chances and that is always a good sign,” Thomas told CaughtOffside.
“Yes you would hope that 2-3 of these chances are hitting the back of the net, but as the game goes on, players tire and that was also evident where more gaps began to open up, and eventually the goals came.
“They must be very careful in the future though, because they will not get such a high amount of chances every week, so the players must be more clinical in front of goal, starting this Thursday.”
Arsenal are perhaps suffering from allowing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave without replacing him with a new striker in January, though Thomas is excited by the potential being shown by Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka.
The youngsters both scored for Arsenal in the win over Brentford, and Thomas believes they are among the biggest prospects in the country, who should promise a big future for both Arsenal and England.
“It is amazing to see what they’re doing,” Thomas said. “They are loved by everyone involved with the club from staff to fans and it’s like they feed off that energy in the games.
“You can see how much it means to them, playing for the club they support and love. Hopefully the form can continue right the way through until the end of the season and it can help the club reach the goals set.
“Thinking long-term, Arsenal and England have two of the most exciting players coming through playing week in, week out together. It could turn out to be great if club and country can find a way to keep them in the team together.”