People inside Arsenal are all saying the same thing about their squad
Arsenal are being touted as heavy favourites to win the Premier League this season.
Mikel Arteta’s side ended the club’s 22-year long wait for a league title last year, and they’re well set to go back-to-back for the first time in 92 years.
People inside the club seem confident of achieving that too.
According to Miguel Delaney of The Independent, people both inside and outside the club are adamant that this is by far the best squad in world football.
And when you look at the depth Arsenal have built over the past couple of summers, that might not be such an outrageous claim.
Do Arsenal really have the best squad in world football?
It might be a sure thing that Arsenal have the best defensive depth in world football.
When Cristhian Mosquera’s your eighth best defender, you’re probably in a good position.
And when he came off injured against Aston Villa on Monday night, Arteta was able to bring on an experienced England international in his place.
That could well have been 17-year-old Marli Salmon had Ezri Konsa not been brought in, highlighting just how important that signing was.
Konsa and Mosquera can cover for the injured William Saliba for the time being, while Ben White steps in for Jurrien Timber.
Jamie Carragher hailed Riccardo Calafiori as the best left-back in the league after the Villa game, but his backup isn’t bad either.
Piero Hincapie will get plenty of opportunities as the season goes on, and he can even cover for Gabriel Magalhaes at centre-back.
In the middle of the park, the depth is also pretty staggering. Arsenal were able to switch out their whole midfield on Monday night and the lads that came on — Bruno Guimaraes, Martin Zubimendi, and Mikel Merino, all had strong showings in their cameo roles.
Arteta now has the sort of midfield depth that helped Pep Guardiola win so many titles with Manchester City.
But the attack is where that argument loses credibility. After the departures of Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri, they look light there now. There’s no getting around it.
The right side is really strong. Not only do they have England internationals Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke, but also one of the brightest prospects on the planet in Max Dowman.
But there are question marks over the other two slots.
Arteta would’ve loved to add a star like Julian Alvarez to his forward line this season. Viktor Gyokeres has played zero Premier League minutes so far, but Arteta cannot run Kai Havertz into the ground again this season.
Once the two-games-a-week schedule kicks in, Gyokeres will have to feature more regularly whether Arteta fancies him or not.
As for the left wing, Eberechi Eze has a golden opportunity to make that position his own. But what if we find ourselves in a situation where both him and Christos Tzolis are injured? Madueke on the left? There are a few questions about their attacking options.
Arsenal came into the summer wanting a transformative attacking signing. They obviously didn’t get one, and on paper, the front line is weaker than last season.
Have they really got the best squad in the world? In defence and midfield, maybe. But in attack, they’re definitely lacking.
