Arteta’s renewed confidence as Arsenal’s squad depth fuels title ambitions. The change in Mikel Arteta’s view on Arsenal’s squad depth has been a complete turnaround. Now that he has the depth in the squad he wanted. Arteta’s vision got a squad he can feel the confidence in fighting on all fronts. After the recruitment of multiple new players since the summer, the issues of last campaign turned the Gunners from frequent top 4 finishers to an actual players for silverware.
From Fragility to Fortitude
Arteta openly lamented that Arsenal was lacking in something since exhaustion and limited options were cited following a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, and then he brought Liverpool’s bench into it to highlight his own and his tactics inability to change the games with substitutions. Skip to the summer signings of Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Martin Zubimendi, and Cristhian Mosquera and the whole squad has changed. The impact has been astonishing and immediate. We saw this in a brilliant 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest. We dominated the game, and even matched on the bench with Bukayo Saka and William Saliba both suffering from injury.
Depth in Action
One of the notable things about the Nottingham Forest was the new ability of Arsenal to withstand adversity. They had to deal with the injury of their captain Martin Ødegaard in the first half with our 18y old Ethan Nwaneri who got an assist on his debut, Mosquera cme on for Saliba at DFB with poise and confidence. Zubimendi scored an eye catching volley and header and Gyokeres scored with poise and confidence. Arteta praised the “courage” of Madueke and has also acknowledged the composure Zubimid provided the team. Arteta stated he has the tactical flexibility to execute a different game plan if needed.
Acknowledging Elevated Standards
Arteta attributes this shift to necessity, noting the “70 or 74 games” required in modern seasons and the raised “standards of other teams in the league and in Europe”. The club’s recruitment strategy focused on adding versatile, high-quality players who provide “options and the capacity to change games”. This depth prevents overreliance on any individual, allowing Arteta to manage workloads effectively—a lesson learned from past injury crises.
Title Aspirations
While mindful that success is determined by reliability, Arteta is encouraged. The team’s ability to cope with injuries while retaining quality shows a team that has matured. Moreover, they are ready to cope with the demands of a long season. The Gunners prepare for tests against Athletic Club and Manchester City. This renewed depth may finally allow them to compete for silverware.
As featured on GoonerNews.com
