Arsenal had one of the deepest squads last season, which carried them to the Premier League title and Champions League final. It looks like that summer transfer window didn't change that, until the same names began to appear twice.
Eberechi Eze covers the left wing and Martin Ødegaard. Noni Madueke covers Bukayo Saka and Christos Tzolis. Max Dowman can play on the right or as a No. 10, although he is still only 16. Mikel Merino remains the emergency striker if two forwards who didn't leave the club this summer are unavailable.
That is the real result of Arsenal's summer business.
Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus have all left permanently. Ethan Nwaneri has joined Borussia Dortmund on a season-long loan. Tzolis is the only new attacking option, even though Arsenal spent the final part of the window trying to convince Julián Ãlvarez to join.
Mikel Arteta still has a strong starting lineup. Arsenal has won its first two Premier League games without conceding, while Kai Havertz, Saka and Ødegaard have already scored.
Arsenal has enough players to cover eventual injuries, but it is a big question if the squad has more raw quality than last year.
Each departure made sense until Arsenal added them together
There was a clear argument for every sale.
Trossard was 31, had one year left on his contract, and brought in £17 million from Besiktas. Jesus was the third-choice center-forward and joined Barcelona for a reported £8.6 million. Martinelli scored only once in the Premier League last season, and his £60 million move to Al-Hilal became Arsenal's record sale.
Nwaneri needed regular football after a difficult spell at Marseille. His Dortmund loan contains no option to buy.
Look at those decisions separately, and there is little reason to complain.
Put them together and Arsenal has removed four players who started 68 games between them last season. Martinelli offered speed down the flank as a substitute, Jesus covered the center and both wings, while Nwaneri gave Arteta another option behind Ødegaard and Saka.
Tzolis has started well. The £34 million signing produced two assists in the Community Shield, caused Coventry problems throughout Arsenal's league opener and has started all three competitive matches. One difficult half against Aston Villa should not change the view of him. But will Arteta burn him out, as he did to Zubimendi last season?
Eze is likely to spend much more time on the left
Arteta seems to have a plan for that potential problem, and its name is Eze.
In both Premier League games, Eze entered in place of Tzolis and played from the left. Against Villa, the change came at halftime. Eze moved inside, found Riccardo Calafiori's run and helped create the only goal of the game for Saka.
However, Tzolis stays the only true winger on the left flank. He starts wide, attacks space early and looks for a shot or cross before the defense can settle. Eze wants more touches. He moves toward the left half-space, combines with Ødegaard and the center-forward, and allows Calafiori to go beyond him.
Tzolis should remain a serious candidate to start when Arsenal needs width and running. Eze may be the better choice against a compact defense because he can receive the ball between two lines and create an opening in a crowded area. His contribution at Villa showed that the left-wing role does not remove him from the parts of the field where he is most dangerous.
This also explains why Eze may now play more often on the left than in the center. Ødegaard has started every competitive match and remains the captain. Arsenal has also added Bruno Guimarães to a midfield that already contains Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Lewis-Skelly and Merino.
There will be central minutes for Eze when Ødegaard rests. But he should play way more on the left wing compared with the previous season.
Madueke can move left, but Saka still needs him on the right
Moving Madueke to the left would create a simple route for Dowman on the right. Arteta has every reason to try it during a long season.
Madueke has played on the left before and is willing to attack a full-back repeatedly. If Eze is covering Ødegaard and Tzolis needs a rest, he becomes the obvious next choice.
His main job remains covering Saka.
Madueke started on the right in the Community Shield while Saka was being eased back after the World Cup. He then replaced Saka against Coventry. Those two decisions show where Arteta currently places him in the hierarchy.
Arsenal has spent several seasons trying to reduce Saka's workload. Using his only experienced deputy on the opposite wing every week would recreate the same problem. Dowman can help, but asking a 16-year-old to become Saka's regular replacement would be a large jump from the controlled role he had last season.
Nwaneri's loan gives Dowman more room. It does not automatically move him to second choice.
He remained an unused substitute against Manchester City and Coventry and was outside the matchday squad at Villa. Cup games and the final stages of comfortable league matches should bring opportunities.
For now, Madueke will probably cover both wings, with most of his minutes coming on the right. Dowman benefits whenever he moves across.
Arsenal now has to bring Gyökeres back into the team
Viktor Gyökeres has experienced the sharpest change in status.
He finished last season as Arsenal's leading scorer with 21 goals in all competitions. By the summer, Arsenal had reportedly explored using him as part of a package during initial talks for Ãlvarez. There is no evidence that Arsenal submitted such an offer, but even the report that the club was willing to discuss it is uncomfortable enough. Gyökeres then played 15 minutes in the Community Shield and remained on the bench for the full 90 against Coventry and Villa.
Havertz has started every game, scored against Manchester City and Coventry and kept his place even after struggling for long periods at Villa.
The transfer story may have affected Gyökeres. The suggestion that Arsenal was willing to explore a route that would send him to Atlético came only a year after he forced through his move from Sporting. That alone gives him reason to question his place in the manager's plans.
There is no evidence that he has reacted badly. His reduced role also has a football explanation.
Arteta preferred Havertz in last season's Champions League final and has continued with him since the summer. Havertz drops toward midfield, links with Ødegaard and Saka and gives Arsenal another player in the first line of pressure. Tzolis can attack the space he leaves behind, which helped produce Havertz's goal against Coventry.
Gyökeres asks the team to play differently. He stays closer to the center-backs, makes more runs beyond them and offers a stronger presence inside the penalty area. His link play wasn't utilized against the strongest opponents.
That makes him a useful alternative rather than an obvious first choice.
He should still receive substantial minutes. Jesus has left, Havertz has a long injury history and Arsenal will play four competitions. Eze can also move inside from the left and supply Gyökeres while he occupies the center-backs.
Gyökeres can push Havertz out of the team if he scores regularly and Arsenal keeps the same control around him. Until then, Havertz will probably start the biggest Premier League and Champions League games.
Zubimendi has become the expensive midfielder who lost his place
Gyökeres is not the only major signing from 2025 who has lost his starting position.
Zubimendi's fall began before Bruno Guimarães arrived. Lewis-Skelly moved into midfield during the title run-in and started ahead of the Spaniard in the Champions League final. Zubimendi had played more minutes than any other Arsenal outfield player and looked tired during the spring.
The summer has made his route back more difficult.
Lewis-Skelly has started all three competitive games this season. He played next to Bruno in the Community Shield and next to Rice in both league matches. Zubimendi has entered as a substitute each time, including an 85th-minute appearance for Rice at Villa.
It seems that Arteta currently sees Zubimendi as an alternative to the deepest midfielder, while Lewis-Skelly and Bruno offer more movement ahead of that position. Bruno has not yet established himself in the league lineup because of his fitness and adaptation period to the new team. Once he is fully ready, we will likely see a pairing of Rice and Bruno behind Ødegaard.
Lewis-Skelly gives Arteta ball-carrying and the energy to press forward after possession is lost. Bruno can also break a defensive line with a pass or by moving with the ball. Zubimendi controls the position and keeps Arsenal connected.
There will be games where that control is valuable. He can also replace Rice without forcing Arteta to change the rest of the midfield. Yet his status has changed from automatic starter to a player selected for a particular job.
For a midfielder who cost more than £50 million one year ago, that is a serious demotion.
Arteta's first-choice structure is clear, but the rotation might become fragile
Once every player is ready, Arsenal's most likely 4-2-3-1 contains Rice and Bruno behind Ødegaard, Saka on the right, Havertz at center-forward and Tzolis or Eze on the left.
The choice between Tzolis and Eze will depend on what the game needs. Tzolis supplies width and earlier runs. Eze supplies another playmaker. Havertz currently starts ahead of Gyökeres, while Madueke remains the first replacement for Saka and an occasional option on the left.
Dowman will get more chances than he did last season, while the schedule will also provide Zubimendi with plenty of minutes.
The concern is what happens after one injury.
If Ødegaard is unavailable, Eze moves into the center and Arsenal loses one of its two main left-wing options. If Saka is unavailable, Madueke moves right and can no longer cover the left. If Havertz is unavailable, Gyökeres starts and Merino becomes the only alternative. One absence can weaken two positions because the cover has already been counted elsewhere.
Arsenal's summer has probably improved its strongest midfield and reduced the number of players Arteta can use to alter a difficult match. That trade may look sensible while the starting lineup stays healthy.
Last season, Trossard, Martinelli, and Jesus could step into different roles when injuries arrived. All three are now elsewhere, and only Tzolis has entered the group.
Arsenal squad is definitely weaker in numbers this season. But the quality likely went up, with two most important signings, Bruno and Tzolis. The biggest issue for Arteta will be preserving his players and avoiding long-term injuries.
The English champions will certainly be a challenger in all competitions this season, and a force to be reckoned with.
