Already discussions have been rife about how Mikel Arteta copes with this crisis. Using Leandro Trossard through the middle seems the obvious answer, yet browsing social media - dangerous, I know - has thrown up various suggestions ranging from playing Raheem Sterling as a false nine, getting Mikel Merino to evolve into Havertz Mark II, to throwing defender Riccardo Calafiori up front and getting it in the mixer.
Playing Calafiori as a centre forward seems a long shot to say the least. Yet if Arteta did take this unusual step he would not be the first Arsenal manager to follow this path. Arsenal fans of a certain vintage will remember the Chris Whyte experiment in 1985, not a band plugged by John Peel on Radio One, rather the brainchild of Don Howe and John Cartwright.
In truth, the plan to convert Whyte from a centre back into a target man had the fingerprints of Cartwright all over it. Appointed Arsenal assistant manager in the summer of 1985, Cartwright was a known advocate of the long-ball game, something that the likes of Steve Williams, Tony Woodcock and Charlie Nicholas were less than impressed with.
Early season defeats against Liverpool and Manchester United hinted that Arsenal were still miles away from a title challenge, but four consecutive wins in August/September moved Howe's team into the chasing pack behind early season pacesetters United, who would win their first ten matches.
However, goal scoring was an issue. Just 12 goals in the opening ten league matches highlighted that perhaps Nicholas and Woodcock were not quite suited to the new playing style adopted. With Paul Mariner injured, and Niall Quinn not seen as ready just yet, the lack of a focal point up front led to an unusual solution.
Chris Whyte was a promising centre back at the club when he made his debut in 1981. An England U21 international, the Islington-born Whyte formed a partnership with David O'Leary and had played a part in helping Arsenal reach both domestic cup semi-finals in 1982/83. But the early promise faded from that point on. When Tommy Caton arrived, Whyte's days were numbered.
Loaned out to Crystal Palace in the 1984/85 campaign, there seemed little hope of Whyte working his way back into the Arsenal team, with young prospects Martin Keown and Tony Adams also on the scene. But a successful stint in the reserves as a centre forward pushed Whyte forefront in Cartwright's thoughts.
Scoring six goals in a Football Combination match against Charlton (Arsenal won 12-0), Whyte certainly impressed reserve team manager Terry Burton. "Chris showed excellent skills and good finishing," Burton noted. "He won a lot of balls in the air, too." Music to the ears of Cartwright.
"We're going to have a good look at him in this forward position," Burton added. "Chris is a player who would shine in almost any position in a Combination game. What we need to assess now is whether he can do the job at a higher level."
Coming off the bench in a 0-0 draw with Newcastle, Whyte would soon get the chance to audition for the role in the first team as Aston Villa came to Highbury on October 5, when Howe picked him in the starting line-up. To the delight of Howe and Cartwright, the experiment worked.
Twice Villa would come from behind in a rare afternoon of entertainment at Highbury for the paltry crowd of 18,881 to enjoy. With just four minutes remaining, a Graham Rix corner was flicked on by Caton, landing at the feet of Whyte. Swivelling expertly, Whyte slammed home from close range to claim all three points in a thrilling 3-2 win.
Howe and Cartwright were giddy with excitement. "Chris Whyte did well," Howe said. "He has a lot of height but on the ground he is a lot better than people give him credit for." "He gave us a new dimension," Cartwright claimed. "For a big man, Chris showed good skills and balance, and I think he will score a lot of goals in league football."
Whyte was just as enthusiastic. "I felt comfortable in the new position," he stated. "It's given me the chance to rebuild my career." Nicknamed Huggy Bear after the character in Starsky and Hutch, Whyte revealed a possible change in the dressing room. "The lads are calling me Serginho now after the Brazilian World Cup striker." That was not necessarily a compliment.
"We'll continue with the experiment of playing Chris Whyte in a forward role," Howe wrote in his programme notes before the League Cup second round second leg match against Hereford. Whyte failed to score against the fourth division side, and when he missed a sitter in the next league match at West Ham, Cartwright's hopes were evaporating.
One final match against Nottingham Forest - who conversely used forward Garry Birtles as an emergency centre back - saw the end of the Whyte trial. At the end of the season, Whyte would leave the club. The two men who gave Whyte his brief opportunity would not make it that far, yet the season was seen as an important one in terms of handing youth team players a chance.
"Here, surely was a hideous scientific experiment gone wrong, proof that that Cartwright was indeed footballs' Doctor Frankenstein," Jon Spurling wrote in All Guns Blazing regarding Whyte's conversion to a striker in 1985. Whyte would go on to have a fine career, winning the title with Leeds in 1991/92. But his days as a striker would be limited to those few matches in 1985.
Other players have converted successfully from a defender into an attacking option, Sheffield Wednesday's Paul Warhurst springing to mind in the 1992/93 season. But it's hard to see Arsenal using this approach in the last few months of this campaign. It would be highly amusing for fans of other clubs, but I'm not sure Arsenal supporters need to witness a sequel to the Chris Whyte experience.
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