Attacking depth will be key to Arsenal improving next season

Arsenal have been heavily linked with Leeds United winger Raphinha in the last few weeks which has led to a lot of speculation about how a starting XI with the Brazilian would work for Arsenal.

I believe that this speculation is unnecessary.

Attacking depth will be key to Arsenal improving next season

Depth is a very good thing and Arsenal will likely finally have it. Last season there was a lot of speculation from fans about how Arsenal could get Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, and Martin Ødegaard all in the starting XI together and I think that it is easy to slip into the “Best XI” state of mind when both rotation and impact subs are very important.

Saka, for instance, has played an unreal number of minutes the last two seasons. He’s played 5,555 in the Premier League alone since the start of the 2020/21 campaign. The 21-year-old is unbelievably talented having won two Player of the Season awards in that span, but it’s also very clear that he badly needs cover.

By signing a player like Raphinha, fans must look at it as just adding quality to the squad rather than exclusively thinking about the starting XI. By having another quality player that can be trusted to make a difference, Arteta has choices of who to select for the right-wing position without the risk of burning out the young English star. Last season, if Saka was to have sustained a major injury, the club would have been strapped for options with Nicolas Pepe being the best available in a season that was underwhelming for the club’s record signing.

Saka is a very direct player; he loves to run at defenders and as a result, gets hit a lot. To secure his long-term career, quality players like Raphinha must be brought in for the good of Bukayo Saka and the club.

Having depth as well makes the bench all the more dangerous. Whoever was on the bench between Smith Rowe and Martinelli was typically the most potent option for Arteta from the bench in matches. That really hurts when you only have one or maybe two players that can be brought on to make a difference in a match to hold a lead or even to get it back.

Arsenal only won from a losing position once last season and it was substitutes Pepe and Eddie Nketiah who made all the difference as we came from behind to beat Wolves 2-1 at the Emirates. Being able to start an attacking three of Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, and Saka before having the luxury to bring on Smith Rowe, Nketiah, and/or Raphinha will be huge when the team is chasing a match or just wanting to extend a lead and get fresh attacking talent on to the pitch.

The concept of Arsenal boasting this sort of attacking talent next season has me salivating at what the team can accomplish.