Do we need to worry about Arsenal’s squad depth for this new 2024-25 season?
If everything goes according to plan before the transfer deadline Friday, Arsenal should have added Mikel Merino, Riccardo Calafiori, a winger, and a goalkeeper to their squad.
Despite these additions, I believe Arsenal’s squad isn’t as large as it was last season. Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira have left, and it looks like Eddie Nketiah, Jakub Kiwior, Aaron Ramsdale, and Reiss Nelson will be leaving too. These may be labelled fringe players, but if someone like Raya was injured, wouldn’t you have been confident Ramsdale would do the job?
Surely, Arteta’s squad could end up significantly decreasing in numbers. The injury-prone nature of players such as Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Takehiro Tomiyasu doesn’t help the situation.
That said, considering Arsenal’s busy schedule, fighting for league glory and cup glory, one might wonder if Arteta and Edu missed an opportunity by not being more active in the transfer market. Is there really a balance in this Arsenal team with all the exits and signings they’ve made?
I might be overreacting, but I’m a bit concerned about the potential lack of depth in the Arsenal squad by the time transfer deadline day arrives.
What’s your take on this?
Daniel O
Squad depth is not about size, it’s about quality (useful players).
iirc at the start of last season City had a squad of 19 1st team players and people were wondering how they’d get through the season if injury struck. The rest of the story is history.
Arenal had the likes of Cedric warming the bench in the match day squad week in week out, only coming on for the last few minutes of the odd game when it was already won. Same sort of thing with the likes of Elneny. They were covering for injuries, not really competing for places or offering rotation (without a loss in qualty). That is not true depth, it’s just numbers (higher wage bill for no benefit).
There’s also some academy players who look ready to step up to the squad, if not as starters they’d likely be more useful squad members than old Cedric was.
Yup, no point in having 30 players if arteta only trusts 12 of them
Great post
Quality and fitness. Much has been made DB’s injuries over the last few years. However, they have been one of the least affected by injuries over the last few years
I think we just need a new CF or a new inverted-RW
Admin, could you please delete my previous comment? Thanks
@Gai please good is Joan Garcia he is the most reliable signing left to sign by Arsenal.
Rumor has it this morning that Arsenal are trying to rival a Saudi club for Kingsly Colman. I am not excited because of his age as a winger 28year and hardly made Bayern first 11 last season. I think he also plays from the left, Arsenal need RWinger to compete or deputise for BSaka.
Yup, we’ve got too many right-footed LWs
Maybe Arsenal will surprise us with Leroy Sane, Johan Bakayoko or Viktor Tsygankov
As others have said though, it’s not necessarily about size but quality (as with many things).
Arsenal had quite a lot of players on their books who weren’t really good enough week in and out. So far, I think they’ve done a pretty good job of offloading many of those through loans and the odd sale. Completing the sales of the likes of Ramsdale and Eddie to go with ESR will be a big step forward if/when those happen. They’ve not brought in too many – just Califiori and Merino so far – but there’s probably a keeper and possibly a striker/winger still come.
As to the outcome of all this, who knows? None of us can be sure one way or another until next May. If Arsenal are 2024-25 champions, then this transfer window will be seen (rightly) as a great success. If they’re not, then it won’t be.
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Arsenal need 2 very good attacking players. One to replace Jesus who is injured most of the time and some one who can provide Cover for Saka but also play with him some time if some other attacking players are injured or provide different attacking dimension
I’m not sure Arsenal will bring in two. There’s also a keeper to get if/when Ramsdale departs.
Personally, I’d go for a striker rather than a winger but there are several reports linking Arsenal to a winger, so we’ll have to see.
Hard disagree..
Garcia
Zinchenko, Calafiore, Kiwior, Tomiyasu
Partey, Jorginho, Nwaneri
Trossard, Jesus, 1 more attacker we’ll surely sign
That’s a better back-up 11 than we’ve had in a while, not even mentioning Tierney and Nelson who I guess aren’t going anywhere and are there if need be but that brings us to 24. We’re good.
Increasing squad depth is not about more players but having better quality and flexibility available as needed.
Defensive squad depth is if anything too deep.Arsenal’s problems will inevitably emerge within the attacking section of their squad.An injury prone Jesus and a still unproven CF in Havertz don’t seem to be sufficient.Similarly given Martinelli’s poor recent form and the risk of burnout striking Saka once again we certainly don’t seem to have enough backup on the wings…either…Nelson clearly isn’t good enough for Arsenal and the lack of interest in his capture amongst other Premier League teams indicates he’s not even good enough for anyone else…
I don’t know what exactly Ivan Toney said to Arteta and Edu during his interview but it should not have resulted in a decision to leave us potentially short in an attacking sense.In addition surely Chiesa for a bargain £10m should have been considered worth the risk rather than the likes of Coman or Lookman.
Sound comment 👍
We don’t sign another attacker / striker we won’t win title I fear
So it’s no longer if we don’t get another striker but rather if we don’t get another attacker or a striker. I fear that Saliba will have the wrong thing for breakfast one day and cost us the three points we need to win the league on the last day of the season.
I’m a little puzzled here.
Squad “depth” is not about the quality, as on our day, we have a first eleven who can match anyone in the PL… as we have proved last season.
The problem we had, was the injuries to players that occurred at the same time, along with long term injuries.
MA obviously has earmarked Nketiah, Nelson, Ramsdale, ESR, Viera, Lokonga, Tierney and Tavares as not fitting into his vision long term.
That, potentially, means seven players out, with, currently, two new faces in the roster.
So, with the new season underway, we are in two domestic cups, the newly expanded CL and, of course, the PL.
That means more games, with the possibility of more injuries.
MA has signed what we all believe are better players, but has reduced his playing squad by five as a minimum.
There is no doubt, in my opinion, that we will pick up injuries (Gabriel is the first such example) while playing more games, yet it seems fans are not worried, as they believe that better players improves the depth of the squad.
The only way that I can see us progressing in all four competitions, is to replace those who are leaving… albeit ensuring they are better quality.
To think otherwise, is to bury one’s head in the sand.
Some of the names you mentioned: Tavares, Tierney, Lokonga weren’t even with the club last season while ESR, Nelson, Ramsdale and Vieira barely played. Relax, it’s not as bad as you’re making it look. Just an attacking signing and replacement for the now departed Ramsdale and we should be good for the season, hopefully
The squad has been strengthened immensely!
Quality over quantity.
Until they get injured GB – tgeb what?
I’m not denying we have signed quality, but I’m arguing that we need more quality, simply because we won’t have the bodies to cover injuries as it stands, especially if MA sells the players he has decided do not figure in his plans.
That’s where the academy comes in, I thought so many here have been asking for who Arteta has brought from the academy to the first team. We the depth we have now the other holes in the future will be plugged by the academy players like Ethan, Skelly etc.
Solwills
Didn’t Arteta say that we have to love the players we have? Or something similar anyway. I think you’re right about a couple of academy players making the grade and therefore, adding to the depth of the squad
It was once said that we left Highbury to move
to the Emirates to challenge the likes of Real Madrid and the other power houses in the football world.
We’ll it looks like Arteta never got the memo, or Edu for that matter.
I hope I’m wrong, but with the current squad we’ve got, I just can’t see us winning the league.
DEREK, it was also said, by our then MD, Keith Edelman, that moving to the new stadium would not stop us buying World Class Players. Look how that worked out.
Herr Drier,
I totally agree, Arsenal fans were sold down the river wasn’t they.
Why not? 2nd two seasons in a row, didn’t do it by 2 points last season. Did we transfer out someone important since last season or do you simply think the competition will be even better while we have not gotten better by as much? What gives? Remember the grass is always greener ….
Yes, exactly right BB.
My personal view on last season is that the margin was so fine that the title was decided by refereeing decisions.
I’m not looking to get into VAR issues – the officials decide, the tech only makes sure they’ve seen what happened – but the standard of officiating was so poor that it affected the outcomes of matches.
The Newcastle 1-0 loss for example, the decision to allow their goal to stand changes that match in unpredictable ways. There were others. Any one of those where a bad decision turned a win into a draw would mathematically see Arsenal champions (and I realise that events take a different course if one event from the past is changed).
But the point is, the difference between City and Arsenal last season was so minute it was almost impossible to separate them (legitimately).
Rubbish, Man City had their own grievances too. If you are blaming the ref for a loss, then you clearly aren’t good enough. And it was possible to separate them, and it was not minute, it was 2 points. Man City responded to everything Arsenal did. If Arsenal got 99 points, Man city would have got 101. We lost cause of less quality in the squad, not cause of refering decisions, that affect all 20 teams, not just Arsenal.
Quality over quantity.
well said
or as i think Edu quoted as saying ‘raise the [quality] floor of the squad, rather than individual ceiling’
and Arsenal definitely have a much higher ‘minimum’ quality in the squad for this PL season than last, injury subject of course
I totally agree with those in appreciation of quality and not quantity where the quantity team is full of weak players that cannot back up others and maintain the desired standard