Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Depth to Bite them in the Rear this Year?

By Josh Sippie

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Arsenal have a lot of players, and a lot of good players at that. There is not a deeper team in all of England. So many players can be interchanged for other players at no cost to the team’s overall quality. It really is quite the situation to be in.

Of course, no situation is perfect, and Per Mertesacker has spoken about how this situation may come back to be a problem to the Gunners.

"“You can see we have a great squad, a deep squad it is. That means there will be some difficult questions for the manager to answer and for the team. There will be disappointment in the squad. At the moment it is easier to handle in pre-season because everyone gets his games. But once it is into the season, everyone wants to play in their own position.”"

My initial reaction was that the big German was hitting out at Aaron Ramsey, as he was one of the few that spoke out last season about not being able to play the position he wanted, but in the overall scheme, what Mertesacker is saying makes absolute sense and you have to wonder which Arsenal men will be the “oddbals” out, if you will.

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The one that inevitably comes to mind, and it is unfortunate, is Tomas Rosciky. Rosicky lashed out last season about how his situation was not funny. The Czech international is incredibly effective when he takes to the pitch, but when you look at where he may be able to play this year, barring injuries, he really has no place. In his advancing age, he has not lost a lot of his skill, but he is getting older and he obviously is not going to be with Arsenal that much longer.

Another name that troubles me is Serge Gnabry. Gnabry is a talented kid who has made an impact on the Arsenal first team already, although that was over a year ago given his serious knee injury last season. Gnabry issued a warning to the first team that he was coming for their spots. He also would not comment on where his future would take him.

Gnabry is very unlikely to find much playing time this season. With his play-style doppelganger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain bound to showcase his extraordinary talent and with Alexis being indispensable on the the left wing, Arsenal have the attacking positions covered. So while Gnabry adds some needed depth, I worry that he will not be able to find enough opportunities to keep him happy.

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Jack Wishere worries me as well, particularly with the newest injury, because when you come down to it, he sits behind Coqoeulin, Cazorla and Ramsey. Wilshere wants to play and he deserves to, but if he cannot stay healthy he cannot establish consistency and then he finds himself confined to cameo appearances, unable to find a first team spot.

However, if Wilshere can stay healthy and play like he has been, then someone else will be pushed into the shadows.

Needless to say, not everyone can play and Per Mertesacker is absolutely right, this will leave some people upset. Arsenal have to stay competitive in all of the competitions to ensure that everyone gets as much playing time as possible.

Next: Jose's 'Jibes' actually Complimentary

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