Bruce Arena is right to want more out of Adam Buksa

Adam Buksa was supposed to be someone who helped the New England Revolution win games. He was brought in to score goals. That simply hasn’t been happening.

Buksa has only scored two goals in his MLS career. One goal early in 2020 showed off his skill and touch. The other, which happened during the MLS is Back tournament, was more luck and brute force.

Since play has resumed in club’s home markets, Buksa has failed to register a goal. He did earn a secondary assist against the Chicago Fire when his header found Tommy McNamara, who set up Teal Bunbury’s goal.

One week later, Buksa once again ended the night without a tally. He did have two shots, one off-target, the other blocked.

Bruce Arena was asked about the Polish striker’s struggles and what the team can do to help him score more goals after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat against the Philadelphia Union.

He said, “It’s not what the team needs to do, it’s what Adam [Buksa] needs to do. He just needs to hang in there, do a better job of getting in front of the goal, and we need to do a better job servicing him.”

It seems as though it has been tough for Buksa to adjust to the style of play in MLS since joining the Revolution. He has been out of rhythm and has struggled to gain some sense of consistency. Joining the team in a season that has been greatly affected by a pandemic hasn’t exactly made things easier either.

Also, the Revs as a whole have struggled in the final third. They have failed to get quality scoring opportunities. This was once again illustrated on Saturday with New England gaining nine shots with only two being on target. That isn’t good enough to gain points.

Another thing to consider is that Buksa has to deal with the pressure of being New England’s third Designated Player. At just 24 years old this can weigh heavy on the striker.

The Revolution invested in Buksa a lot. So far the return on investment has left more to be desired.