Do we have two teams?

Do we have two teams and do we now have strength in depth like Manchester City or not?

Team who started against Wolves

David Raya

O. Zinchenko Gabriel Magalhães W. Saliba B. White

D. Rice T. Partey M. Ødegaard (c),

Gabriel Martinelli  K. Havertz Bukayo Saka

The alternatives

A. Ramsdale

K.Tierney R. Calafiori J. Timber T. Tomiyasu J. Kiwior

Jorginho M. Merino F. Vieira E. Nwaneri

L. Trossard E. Nketiah R. Nelson Gabriel Jesus 

Raya

Raya has cemented his place

Above I have listed the team chosen against Wolves as a possible first team, although with obvious question marks over some positions. I will go through these against the best of the rest. Raya is Arteta’s man and I feel most fans are happy with that. But Ramsdale (if he stays)is a good substitute and I do not believe, with a good run in the side, that we would be weakened if he was playing. Strong at goalkeeping.

White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko

Calafiori has to come in?

The defence is where there is now serious competition. Calafiori was surely not bought to be on the bench so that means Zinchenko to swap places? Can he take Gabriel’s place instead? I feel that the Saliba/Gabriel partnership is written in stone now so it would take an injury for it to be shaken up. White, Calafiori, Timber, Kiwior and Tomiyasu can all play central and full back so that leaves Zinchenko and Tierney as full back options. 9 for 4 positions seem to be strong and only Tierney has big question marks over whether he can complete a season. I suspect that Timber and Calafiori are the biggest contenders for a first choice position but Ben White’s understanding with Saka makes him hard to shift. Calafiori to replace Zinchenko then is my belief. Strong at defence.

Partey, Rice and Odegaard next.

Declan Rice will be hard to replace

Rice and Odegaard are nailed on but Partey’s position seems open. Merino, if he comes, surely will take that spot. Jorginho always does well and would be first choice at most teams. Nwaneri seems to have pushed himself into the first team squad at 17 but he would need Rice to go back as he is an attacking midfielder. I suspect he is there for a reason and may well be the first academy player in a while to nail down a place. Still very young, though. Fabio Vieira and Zinchenko could do a job but neither are as good as the first choice. Havertz also does a good job in midfield. I feel we have reasonable strength in midfield but Rice and Odegaard are better than the rest and either or both getting injured could derail our title chances.  Midfield not quite so strong in depth.

Martinellli, Havertz, Saka

Kai Havertz - is he the striker that we have needed?

Attack is the area where we have the most concerns. Havertz up top seems to be working despite the 60 million being down the drain :). Jesus probably is not quite superstar level. Saka and Martinelli (if he has rediscovered his mojo) are possibly the 2 best wingers in world football. Trossard is an excellent backup. Nelson also puts in a reliable shift when called upon but that seems rare nowadays. For Nketiah it is the same. Attack seems vulnerable to something going wrong.

Six are certain

I think we can say that we have 6 players written down from the start: Raya, Saliba, Gabriel, Rice, Odegaard and Saka. Calafiori and Timber may well prove to be the equal of Saliba/ Gabriel. But Rice, Odegaard and Saka do not have alternatives in my opinion. Three subs were used against Wolves, Timber for Zinchenko who was struggling a bit, Trossard for Saka who had got a yellow card, and Jesus for Rice who wasn’t as good as normal. The final two came on late when we were 2-0 up. Arteta doesn’t seem to like subs whereas Guardiola often uses all five. I feel that is a weakness, that Arteta doesn’t really trust certain players. Players come on after 80 minutes which makes it very difficult to have an impact.

Jurrien Timber looks like a player you cannot leave out

We were lucky with injuries last season. The previous year we were unlucky. I reckon that what is above raises question marks about our depth if something goes wrong. A top notch striker, winger and midfielder would be useful. But they would have to get game time. The fringe players last year got very little. For example, Reiss Nelson had 14 sub appearances in the league but I doubt if he got 90 minutes in total. Nketiah similar. Emile Smith Rowe also. Without game time players cannot improve and feel comfortable in the team.

More players need starts and games

I have listed 25 players and obviously some of the academy guys from pre-season are trying to push for a spot but I reckon no more than 15 players will get regular starts. Last year only 15 got 10 or more. If Arteta continues with late or little subbing then how will the fringe players get match-wise? You may hardly get the ball in a few minutes.

Saka is irreplaceable I feel

I firmly believe that we can only have a strong squad by rotation, by longer subbing, and by players feeling trusted. We will get punished this season if Arteta follows the same pattern as last year. Unless we get lucky with injuries again and the 6 critical players listed above start almost every game.

My conclusion is that our strength in depth is open to question. We certainly do not have a like-for-like reserve in many positions. We will also probably have many players with limited game time when we do need a game-changer. I believe that Arteta needs to change his ways. I doubt if he will. We might pay for that.