Of all the reasons attributed to Arsenal‘s late season crumble, a lack of squad depth, at least compared to Manchester City, was the most obvious and given the unexpected nature of their challenge, the most forgivable.
Over the course of the 2022-23 campaign, seven Arsenal players started 34 or more Premier League matches, with four – Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes and Bukayo Saka – featuring in every single match. The last time that happened at Arsenal was pre-Arsene Wenger and even pre-Premier League, back in 1990-91.
Fatigue, both mental and physical, was inevitable for a young, inexperienced group going for the title for the first time, while an untimely injury to William Saliba had an unmistakably unsettling effect on a back four that had flourished thanks to familiarity.
It is an issue that Mikel Arteta and the club’s sporting director Edu Gaspar have sought to address during the summer transfer window, with four first-team-ready players – Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and David Raya, whose move from Brentford is imminent – drafted in and Granit Xhaka the only regular moved out.
The result of that summer business is that Arteta possesses not only a stronger squad, but a more adaptable one, with all three of his new recruits capable of playing in two or more positions. Timber is accomplished across the back four; Rice played as a centre back in his youth, emerged as a holding midfielder and evolved into a box-to-box player; and Havertz has been used as an advanced No 8, a No 10 and a False 9, arguably to his detriment.
Considering how strong Arsenal were last season, it was interesting that Arteta entrusted all three outfield players to start the club’s opening league game against Nottingham Forest. Timber slotted in at left-back, as he did in the Community Shield, with Rice and Havertz joining Martin Odegaard in a new-look midfield three.
It was also notable that Thomas Partey was deployed at right-back, with Ben White shifting one position inside and Gabriel, an ever-present starter in 2022-23, left on the bench. Consistency in selection was a foundation of Arsenal’s surprise title assault; maybe phase two will be defined by rotation.
Possessing greater variety can only be a positive – although it remains to be seen how the dynamic between Ramsdale and Raya plays out given neither will be happy to sit on the bench – and it will be interesting to see how Arteta handles the challenge of juggling a bigger squad.
Asked whether the changes can elevate Arsenal to the next level, Arteta responded: “That’s my job! To create bigger problems to the opponent than they are creating for us, to play the best possible way to earn the right to win the game at the highest possible probability to win the game.
“In order to do that we have to pick the right players every week, not to start only but as well to finish. And the players that come in in the final part of the game really help us to earn the right to win.”
That isn’t to say that there weren’t teething issues against Nottingham Forest. Arsenal struggled to sustain pressure for extended periods and initially found it difficult to create chances, until two moments of individual inspiration, first from Gabriel Martinelli to set up Eddie Nketiah’s opener and then Saka to score a sumptuous second, unlocked Forest and ultimately won them the match.
But the biggest problem that Arsenal had was regarding the tempo of their play, which was unusual considering how energetic they were last season and how youthful this side is. If you’d stumbled into the Emirates at half-time with no prior knowledge of the teams involved or the occasion at hand, you could be forgiven for thinking it was a pre-season friendly given how low the intensity was.
Rustiness is perhaps inevitable on day one but perhaps the most intriguing tactical nugget involving Arsenal will be how the languid Havertz replaces the combative Xhaka on the left of Arsenal’s midfield three. It certainly isn’t a like-for-like replacement.
STOP THAT, BUKAYO SAKA!
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On this occasion, Arsenal’s lack of urgency did not cost them, but Arteta acknowledged that the relaxed tempo played into their opponent’s hands.
“Especially in the second half, especially when we were 2-0 up [it is important] that the rhythm is maintained,” he admitted.
“Playing against a low block with a Christmas tree [formation] slowly just benefits the opponent and we need to stay away from those games.”
The ease with which City strolled to victory at Turf Moor on Friday night was not apparent at the Emirates, where the home fans endured a nervy finish after Taiwo Awoniyi’s 82nd-minute strike after a ruthlessly executed counter-attack.
Arteta’s mentor Pep Guardiola has mastered the art of squad rotation, with City’s galaxy of stars flitting in and out of the starting XI without the collective suffering any dip in cohesion or synergy. That is the next stage for Arsenal as they seek to hunt their title rivals down.
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