Is there enough depth in Arteta’s squad?
A lot of questions have been asked this week regarding whether Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal squad has enough depth to compete and even complete the season. With injures spanning across the entire Premier League, it’s got fans and managers worried how they’re meant to continue to cope with the overflowing of injuries plaguing the league.
Arsenal have seemed to have problems from the very start and not long after signing him, Jurrien Timber was set to miss the entire season because of an ACL injury he picked up in our opening game against Nottingham Forest and since then we’ve had injury after injury piling up. We’ve somehow managed to deal with it, with players getting injured and coming back at different times and luckily, we haven’t had too much of an overload just yet but with such a busy schedule, it is worrying.
Arteta was asked if he think’s his squad has enough depth in his pre-match press conference for Sheffield United this weekend and said this “There is depth, obviously it will depend on the injuries that we pick up and where we have that depth because having injuries in certain lines is going to affect you in a way where you don’t have the right replacement. So far we are coping with it and everybody feels really connected and everybody feels that they have a chance and that’s a really positive thing to have in the squad” Via Arsenal.com
With the latest injuries coming to Gabirel Jesus and Thomas Partey that is going to see them missing for a few weeks, only adds to the pressure on Arteta’s shoulders to try and keep everyone else fit and ready to go. Which means players who normally don’t get a lot of minutes are likely to get a chance and will have to step up to the occasion.
Playing in four different competitions this season, including getting back into the prestigious Champions League from the first time in nearly 7 years and, after being away so long, will want to put their best foot forward but will be difficult with the build up of games and constant niggling injuries that seem to be tormenting the Premier League at the moment.
Hopefully Arteta and Arsenal recruitment team will look to bolster the squad in January and decrease the possibility of more injuries and help Arteta be able to rotate his squad more.
What’s your thoughts Gooners?
Daisy Mae
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Except maybe a RW, i don’t think we need anymore additions. we’ve got Thomas and Gabi soon to return and of course Jurrien as well who is expected to be back by March with his stop gap in Cedric not even making matchday squads. so i think we sign a left footed RW like Olise in january or promote Amario while we get Cedric off the books to balance things.
But Thomas and Jesus are expected to be out for several weeks or even months. So “soon to return” is plainly false!
You blithely speak of “MARCH” as if it were next week and not five full months away!
Timber is likely to miss all or almost all of this season and our need is NOW, not next year.
Listen, we can’t sign players to replace the injured ones while we’ve already got their replacements to step in except of course you beleive injuries are’nt part of the game and FFP is false. Thomas and Gabi out for several weeks does’nt mean we bring in players to replace them while we have Decs,Jorge,Mo Eddie and Kai in our ranks to replace them in the starting line up. Jurrien also been well replaced so far by the set of players deployed at either flanks, so yeah we are well stocked.
Definitely need a back up/replacement for Partey, not too worried about Saka as we have Nelson and it’s rumoured Marquinhos is coming back in January, also Jesus can play there if necessary. Apart from this I think we are sorted squad wise.
I think arteta need to sign few players at fence and serious or topical striker. Only that two roll player would make arsenal compete for the title this season 2023/2024.
“serious or topical”
what exactly is that?
“striker”
Nketiah proved today we have the depth in “striker”, given Trossard and Havertz (two very different players) can also fulfil
the whole striker talk is for children
at least we put the stupid talk of a [over priced and over rated] striker to bed
the reality is there are more pressing needs elsewhere [and always have been]
facts are that Partey, Jorginho and Elneny are no longer world class reliable, so a midfield rebuild [like Liverpool] must happen in next 12 months, to get at least one in January to bed in and connect with the team would be sensible
no more nonsense about £80m on striker we don’t need when we have an immanent shortfall in midfield
People saying we don’t need a striker are wrong. We seem competitive everywhere to Man City but what about that one player named Haaland? You can not be saying we are better than Man City everywhere else except the forward? For us to really be equal and rest easy to compete for 38 games we need a world class striker. No excuses.
if you know of another Haarland do tell
Haarland is generational talent that is likely to re-write the goal scoring record book
there is no one like him on the planet, and certainly the likes of Toney and Watkins are miles off that level, nowhere near ‘elite’ or ‘world class’
Arteta got it right in containing Haarland rather than trying to take him on with a like for like
true elite strikers [other than Haarland] are very very expensive and even then subject to goal droughts and injury
with Jorginho, Elneny and Partey all the wrong side of 30 there must be a defensive midfield rebuild summer at the latest, getting one in in January to bed in with the team and League is by far a greater need than striker fantasies
and then look at the right side of our defence, we are very short on quality and depth should Saliba and/or White get injured, or even need a rest playing twice a week, arguably again a much bigger need
so while a Haarland of our own would be welcome, it is silly talk
In my opinion, we played one of the worst PL teams I have witnessed yesterday.
They had no attack worth talking about – hence the clean sheet.
They had no defence, hence Nketiah’s hattrick and the five goals.
We talk about our injured players, Sheffield United had, I believe nine players out, three times as many.
Anyone who thinks that the squad we had out against the Blades , would be able to compete with the likes of city, pool, spuds, brighton or villa are living in cloud cuckoo land.
We need a TRUE striker and a proven cover for the perrenially injured Partey and remember that we are playing in four competitions.
Nketiah and Nelson are good squad players, along with Kiwior who had an excellent game yesterday.
So, two more top class players and we can start to believe we have the depth to, not only compete, but believing we can actually win more than one of the CL, PL, FA Cup and Carabo cup.
Glad you mentioned it Ken. Suddenly overnight EN becomes the promised striker! Let us remind ourselves that we got a tame/lame draw with Chelsea, while Brighton comfortably beat them 2-0. We need Ramsdale back in the goal with a permanent replacement for Partey and a clinical striker if we are serious of lifting any one or more of the silverware up for grabs.
our whole team was off against Chelsea, we were undone by a penalty and a fluke, that is not down to who played centre forward that day
and as it turned out we fought back to score two goals and draw when playing badly (worst so far this season)
it seems every time we draw or lose it is down to having another striker, there is a lot more to football than just that
I really do hate people who question what Arteta does to his line-up. It shows our cockiness and yet we have won nothing for years of significance. Arsenal were a mid table team just like Man UTD are becoming now before he came. He has done almost everything right up to now. The reason why Raya is in goal is because of his collection of balls and quick counter attack passing that creates chances. Something Ramsdale will never be able to do. You also need to remember that because he can not do that, it adds more pressure on us defensively as he was conceding goals more than Raya has up to now per game. Notice also since Raya has been in goal have you noticed any teams having a lot of shots at us? Not compared to when Ramsdale was in. Finally regarding Havertz, have faith. He has set up some important wins for us (remember City match?). You need to understand not complain all the things Arteta is trying to do and not put pressure on a Manager who suddenly is starting to make us one of the feared teams in the world.
True Ken
We got 3 points but let’s not forget how poor SU are. Injuries, given up a massive amount of goals, and looked toothless all match.
For anyone to suggest this ONE MATCH solves our depth situation or validates Nketiah needs to take off the rose tinted glasses.
We won, I’m ecstatic, but we should have destroyed such a poorly fielded team.
I belive we have sufficient depth in terms of quantity in most areas of the pitch(the quality is a different discussion) except the right side of our pitch. With Tomiyasu now playing mainly at LB and playing well too, Saliba and White don’t really have backups unless you count Cedric. In addition to those two areas,there’s right wing where Arteta doesn’t trust anyone other than Saka. With Timber, I think the depth would have been sufficient for RCB/RB. If Timber returns by January, which is unlikely,there may be no need for a signing in that area. If not,then we may need another player there for cover. As for right wing,there have been rumours that Marquinhos could be recalled.
It’s difficult to answer that question on new signings without having sufficient inside information. The most important information would be the state of the club with regards to Financial Fair Play – the acquisition of Raya on loan rather than a permanent transfer points to the fact that the club could be limited in their spending unless they make a big sale to balance the books. There are also unexpected scenarios like injuries that may come into play. It is also worth noting that other than the youth players,only a certain number of players (25 I think ??) can be registered. With this in mind,there may be need for exits before any signings are made. A lot can change between now and January which will influence the activities of the club in January.
There’s been a lot of talk about the striker situation. I think what happens in that area will depend largely on how Jesus,Nketiah and potentially Havertz perform in that role. If they do well, I doubt the club will sign anyone there. Form,injuries and opportunities in the market could also play a role. Finally, I think the fact that Arsenal substitutes have already scored 7 goals from the bench this season,(which is one of the highest in the league), shows the strength of our depth compared to last season.
We surely need 1/2 players in January. I would suggest a striker and a defensive midfielder. Once we get into the knock out round in the CL, we will need more quality players to compete.