Arsenal: 5 squad depth questions opened by Rob Holding

Rob Holding’s long term injury means that Arsenal are going to be short in the defence. But the squad depth is almost laughable across the board.

Unai Emery has Arsenal purring again. With a 21-game unbeaten streak continuing thanks to a 1-0 win over Huddersfield and the kind of tenacity that fans have been craving for years, the Emery project is coming along nicely. There have been bumps along the way but the results have been, by and large, positive. The question, then, was what happens when the injuries pile up and the squad depth is tested?

5. Calum Chambers loan in the spotlight again

In August, Arsenal decided that it was best for Calum Chambers to go out on a season long loan at Fulham to further his development. When the season started, Arsenal had three fit center backs – Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis and Rob Holding.

Laurent Koscielny was still recovering from his horror Achilles injury in May and Konstantinos Mavropanos was said to have suffered an injury some time in August.

Now, with Rob Holding suffering a ruptured ACL, the Gunners are on the verge of having to play Carl Jenkinson or an Academy player at center back. Emery has improved the team in many aspects, but our defence remains as leaky as ever (shipping 20 goals in 15 Premier League games and keeping three paltry clean sheets).

This conundrum at center back could have been avoided had Chambers been kept around. But as luck would have it, he’s away on loan and our go-to emergency center back, Nacho Monreal has been injured often this season.

Shkodran Mustafi also left the match against Huddersfield Town with a Hamstring problem, compounding Arsenal’s problems further. It makes Arsenal’s decision to start the season with three fit center backs all the more curious.

On to depth issue No. 4.