This summer, Arsenal have embarked on a low-risk high-reward squad building challenge with a fully-fledged youth-driven project, with the average age of their 4 signings made being 22. I look at why Arsenal have made individual signings, what their current team looks like & what’s left for them to do.
The Arsenal team profiles
Right now, Arsenal have 31 players considered to be in the first team, 15 of those are U23, 5 of those are 29+ & 11 of them are in/approaching their physical peak at 24-28. To sum it up, this team is well future-proofed, with a young core of U23’s everywhere, that will spend their prime years at the club.
Arsenal’s youth core (U23’s,) has been a core that has come together very quickly since Mikel Arteta arrived in 2020 with 10 of the 15 names breaking through under the manager.
In goal, Arsenal can boast a strong core of young goalkeepers that are on the fringes of breaking into the 11 if all goes well (Ramsdale,) & they also have some goalkeepers that will either establish themselves at good level clubs once their contract runs out next summer (Karl Hein,) or they’ll be able to contest strongly for a #2 spot at the club if all goes well (Okonkwo.)
They have a U23 CB pairing in their defensive positions who have amassed nearly 100 top flight caps between them in Gabriel Magalhaes & Ben White, with both players on the cusp of regular international team callups. Gabriel was a shoo-in for the Brazil Olympics set up before his injury & Ben White received an England Euros call up.
At RB, Ainsley Maitland-Niles can play there, someone who also has strong European & domestic pedigree (nearly 80 league games played in his career. The LB is straightforward with the new boy, Nuno Tavares, Kieran Tierney’s deputy occupying that U23 space.
In midfield, Lokonga, ESR & Odegaard are the U23 options that Arsenal have had a breakthrough or join since late 2020. They’re all players with strong experience at the top level, or at the European level with Odegaard being the ‘biggest name in terms of pedigree from this list.
ESR came through the academy, providing a #10 option when Arsenal needed one to go to their preferred 4-2-3-1 formation (which dictated who would join in the following month.) Odegaard joined on loan in January 2021 & permanently in August 2021 on the back of that loan spell, with his acquisition providing Arsenal with young + strong #10 depth that they wouldn’t have had since the days of Santi Cazorla or Tomas Rosicky.
Sambi Lokonga is Arsenal’s Dani Ceballos replacement, bought in to deputise for Thomas Partey & Granit Xhaka to succeed either player once the time arrives. He gives Arsenal what they need with a defensive mindset, a skill set that can allow him to play as a lone 6 in a high volume-passing setup or as a double pivot 6 where he’d cover for the wide players.
In attack, the only signing made was Gabriel Martinelli from Ituano back in July 2019. The Brazilian was bought in as a possible depth option for the U23’s before establishing himself as Arsenal’s natural Aubameyang replacement. Nketiah & Balogun have gone through the ranks at Arsenal over the last few years, with Nketiah being the more established of the 2.
His breakthrough back in 2017 started off the uprising of the current generation of hale end attackers. Flo Balogun forced his way into the first team set up with his new contract & performances in Europe. Bukayo Saka burst onto the scene in 2019, with his Europa League performances under Unai Emery & his quick grasp of the LB role when Kieran Tierney was out for long periods giving him a platform to break into the team.
Who joined Arsenal this window & why?
So far this window, Arsenal have spent around £130m on bringing in new players, all 23 or under. Their emphasis on youth recruitment stems from an acceptance that Arsenal won’t be a force to be reckoned with for a few years, so they’ve decided to bring in more English players who are at a stage in their career where they can be what the manager wants them to be, as opposed to seasoned veterans who may be readier than their younger counterparts, but with a lower ceiling & are harder to turn into the managers ideal player/
To start the window, they signed Benfica’s Nuno Tavares to deputise at LB for Kieran Tierney, which went completely against their backup LB links from January & at the start of the summer (Ryan Bertrand & Patrick Van Aanholt,) in terms of profile. They opted to make a move for a younger LB to push Tierney as opposed to an experienced LB that wouldn’t push Tierney but would offer them a lot in the dressing room instead.
At CB, Arsenal brought in Brighton’s Ben White for £50m, after being heavily linked with Sevilla’s Jules Kounde & Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba. Their recruitment plan in this position was clear. Find a young CB that has enough experience under his belt in high-quality setups & bring him in to establish himself as Arsenal’s main RCB & the David Luiz replacement in no time at all.
There was a need for Arsenal to bring in a new backup CM, especially with Dani Ceballos leaving & Mo Elneny only having a year left on his contract. There weren’t many links to CM’s that could play that role, partially down to Granit Xhaka’s Roma talks, but Sambi Lokonga was the chosen player to deputise for Thomas Partey & Granit Xhaka.
He offers an abundance of experience, whilst being Anderlecht’s captain before he departed, with his skillset being perfect for a defensive-minded/behind-the-ball CM, with Arsenal being able to focus on more attack-minded options here on.
After his loan spell at Arsenal, the club (recently) re-signed Martin Odegaard on a permanent deal. Arsenal’s search for a new #8/#10 has been consistent in regards to the age profile & the qualities desired in the players that they’ve looked to, or have bought in.
Emi Buendia, Houssem Aouar & James Maddison were the other names that Arsenal looked at signing to either fill in the creativity void last summer (as was the case with Houssem Aouar.) or to provide a somewhat versatile option to rotate, compete & play alongside Emile Smith Rowe, as was the case with Emi Buendia & James Maddison. Martin Odegaard does both of those things, he was Arsenal’s most creative player when he was at the club from late January, & he can fill in at RCM, RW & AM. Arsenal’s #10 pursuits sums up their rebuild in the last year. Filled with consistency, even if they fail to get who they want at first.
In goal, Arsenal took a massive risk in signing Sheffield United’s Aaron Ramsdale, especially after the fans clamouring for Ajax’s Andre Onana instead. On paper, the Ramsdale recruitment seemed like an obvious choice when looking at Arsenal’s transfer market trends.
He’s a young, homegrown goalkeeper with an abundance of Premier League experience, playing 75 Premier League games in the last 2 seasons. There will be doubts over whether he’s a fit for Arsenal or not, but it’s clear that Arsenal has looked at a specific type of goalkeeper in their pursuit of Aaron Ramsdale, with time telling whether it’s the right call or not.
Plans for the future
In the immediate future, Arsenal have to sort out 2 positions before they’re in a ‘good spot’ for the short term, as well as the long term. Their RB position needs a new player there, with Hector Bellerin looking to be on the way out. To replace him, it’d make sense for them to pluck a new RB that’s not on the shop window & turn him into what Arsenal want him to become, especially as any RB would look good if they could run, cross & maintain their width when Arsenal are in attack.
The best link Arsenal have had to an RB is Gremio’s Vanderson, who fulfils that run, cross & maintain their width criteria, despite having physical deficiencies & needing months of training/conditioning to turn into a good Premier League RB.
The second position Arsenal need to strengthen immediately (but is a lower priority,) is their forward position. Arsenal lacks an attacking focal point that has height + stamina on their side. Lacazette has done well enough to do that role, bringing in the attacking midfielders + forwards into the game more, but as he isn’t 6ft+ & able to be in the box to finish attacks, the club ends up losing out as a result.
There have been many names suggested replacing Lacazette, with Real Sociedad’s Alex Isak being the one I think suits Arsenal the best, going off their youth-driven recruitment model.
In the long term, Arsenal needs to emphasize strengthening their youth core by supplementing them with experienced voices, signing players that are U28-30, & replacing those in the youth core that aren’t performing as expected or being given an offer that’s higher than what the club expects to get for the player.
Last Thoughts
Arsenal’s, buy now & win more later model is a risky one, with the outlay of this window setting out high expectations for those at the club to fulfil even if they lack a balanced enough side to do that. If Arsenal gets all necessary business done this window by signing a new RB & CF, then I’ll be 100% committed to this youth model, with whatever happens during the times the players grow at the club.
If the current incoming business is where it ends, then I’ll have less hope.