Arsenal probably could have fielded an U21 team against Sheffield United and come away with all the points.
An injury-stricken Blades have produced the worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign – with one point from a possible 30 – and never came within 20 yards of a shot on target.
But Mikel Arteta said he had given his players a “big alert” two days before the game, warning them that it would be too easy to let their guard down.
“So we beat [Manchester] City, we come from national team, we have to go to Stamford Bridge and we did what we did in Stamford Bridge,” he said afterwards.
“Then you have to go to Seville and that’s a really, really stressful week with as well what they were experiencing in the last few weeks as well.
“So then you can have the tendency to…”
Arteta exhaled and gestured a downing of tools, a relaxation that Arsenal could not afford.
But nevertheless, they did feel they could give captain Martin Odegaard and centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes the day off with little to no risk of it coming back to bite them.
There will be tougher days though, and with winter drawing in and twice-weekly fixtures now the norm, Arsenal’s squad depth will be severely tested in the coming months.
It is something of which serial Premier League title-winners Manchester City have become the masters. You cannot win the Treble with the same XI every week, yet Pep Guardiola’s side rarely dipped in performance.
Much of it comes down to recruitment, of course, the best example being the £14m deal for Julian Alvarez. In the bargain Argentine, they have found a talented striker who can, with equal aptitude, complement or understudy Erling Haaland depending on what is required. So too the interchangeable centre-halves, the addition of Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes in midfield, or the versatility of Bernardo Silva.
On Saturday’s evidence, Arsenal still lack the ability to field a second XI that could feasibly win trophies. Odegaard may have had a quiet few weeks – the other unspoken reason for giving him a rest – but Kai Havertz’s inability to influence a game that was barely a two-horse race was striking.
In a comparable 4-0 win over Bournemouth, Odegaard made 56 passes. Against Sheffield United, Havertz made just 36 and only one incisive enough to receive classification as “key”. The German’s best position remains a mystery, but filling Odegaard’s boots is not it.
Sitting next to the Norwegian on the bench was Gabriel Magalhaes, and while his replacement Jakub Kiwior had very little to do defensively, his pass completion rate of under 90 per cent (virtually the same as David Raya and the second-worst of Arsenal’s defensive players) did perhaps betray that he still has a long way to go as a left-sided centre-half.
And ahead of him another second-stringer, Emile Smith Rowe, made his first Premier League start in 17 months, the No 10 on his back a sign of how important he could or perhaps should be to Arsenal. But again he looked distinctly rusty and it is hard to imagine Arteta will be able to trust him any time soon.
But at least the manager does have one willing and able deputy, who became Arsenal’s top-scorer this season with a brilliant treble: Eddie Nketiah.
Arteta was at pains to point out that Nketiah is hardly a back-up, given he has started eight of the 10 Premier League games this season.
“That tells you how much we trust them, how much I trust him and and the importance that he has in the team,” Arteta said.
“He’s a great player for Arsenal, he started nine games in the Premier League. He’s already really really good. He can be better – yes, and the best thing he’s got already is that talent that he’s got, but especially his mentality is incredible.
“And when he has that mentality with that talent, obviously, he’s going to get much better.”
One of the Premier League’s greatest ever strikers had similar praise for him.
On Match of the Day, Alan Shearer said: “He’s unlikely ever to be the main man but when you’re in a football club that’s challenging for honours, you need players of quality to come in and he is that.
“He’ll always be a threat.”
Gabriel Jesus looks set to miss several games with a hamstring injury, including a tough trip to Newcastle in a week’s time.
But it is one of the few areas where they do have the depth they need to keep firing on multiple fronts week in, week out.
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