Arsenal are rumored to be signing some quality players ahead of the summer transfer window, but members of the squad could be lost as a result of their reinforcements.
Arsenal signed Noni Madues, Victor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze last summer.
If Arsenal are to re-enter the transfer market, as many reports have suggested, sooner or later they will need to start deciding who they will lose as a result of their recruitment efforts.
The Gunners have continued to invest summer after summer since Mikel Arteta turned them into back-to-back trophy challengers. So they spend a lot of money, especially on the front lines. In the most recent summer, they added Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Victor Gokeres.
Prior to that, he had signed the likes of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli were already at the Emirates when Arteta arrived. There is no doubt that this transfer strategy has given them a starting lineup and bench that would be the envy of even Europe’s top teams.
Piers Morgan has claimed that he only recently assembled the best team in football history. And according to reports, they are eyeing PSG’s Champions League winner Hviča Kvaratschelia. There are also rumors that Atletico Madrid’s Julián Álvarez and Inter Milan’s youngster Pio Esposito are also linked.
That’s all well and good, but Arsenal have evolved into a team that needs to accept that they can’t keep everyone. On the other hand, there are so many talented players that it would be a luxury to exclude some of them. But the cold hard truth is that individuals, the best people, will never accept a team role.
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The first signs of this are already being seen with Ethan Nwaneri having to leave on loan to get more minutes. He left for Marseille in January after making a total of 0 starts in the Premier League. He only signed a new long-term contract in the summer but is already struggling to find his way into the starting XI.
He is considered one of the best players to come out of the academy in recent years. When Joe Cole had the chance last season, he looked electric, so much so that Joe Cole was compared to Lionel Messi. But there is no doubt that the arrival of Madueke and Eze has stunted his development.
Arsenal are rumored to be in a sensational move for PSG star Kviča Kvaratschelia (Image: Marc Atkins, Getty Images)
And what if Arsenal were able to sign Kvaratschelia over the line, although that seems unlikely at the moment? With only a limited number of players able to start a game, who decides it’s better for Arteta to play every week until he completes his next big contract?
It’s not just the offense where continued arrival has resulted in players being eliminated. Miles Lewis-Skelly was linked with a potential World Cup appearance around this time last year. The teenager looks fearless as a full-back and, like Nwaneri, recently signed a new contract in north London.
And yet, here we are. Lewis-Skelly has started just one league game. Piero Hincapie was signed from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer and has appeared in 17 league games. It doesn’t take a math genius to figure out who’s on top of who.
Ethan Nwaneri and Miles Lewis-Skelly have both lost their squad as a result of Arsenal’s transfer activity.
And like Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly also ended up losing money as a result of Arsenal’s transfer business. If asked, Arteta will no doubt talk about the long-term plans he has for them and their importance to the team. But the numbers don’t bear that out, and ambitious young players won’t accept bit-part roles forever.
There’s also no mention of Max Dauman, the 16-year-old prodigy destined for the top. The jigsaw only fits in one direction, and he says he considers himself number 10, a role that Martin Odegaard once commanded. Eze is now a real option there, as is Havertz.
If Dauman wants to play on the wing, he faces just as much competition, but it could be even worse. Arsenal aim to stop Manchester City in the title race and the Etihad squad is a perfect example of ‘you can’t keep everyone’.
Yes, Guardiola’s quality has suffered. But he had to see Cole Palmer, Morgan Rodgers, Liam Delap and Jadon Sancho all come through the door. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but Arteta is best prepared for a similar experience.
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