Mikel Arteta has done an incredible job as the manager of Arsenal.
The Spaniard took charge of the Gunners when they were in turmoil, but he has since turned them into contenders to win the Premier League and Champions League.
Arsenal came close to winning the league in each of the last three seasons, but they fell short on all three occasions.
This season, they are in pole position to go all the way, and Paul Merson thinks he knows the real reason why.
Fill the blanks, Arsenal have 53 points now but they’ll end the season with __.
Paul Merson hails Mikel Arteta’s ‘unbelievable’ squad building at Arsenal
The biggest reason why Arsenal failed to win the Premier League title in the last three seasons is their squad depth.
In the 2022/23 season, William Saliba’s injury crushed their title hopes. In the following campaign, the lack of a prolific striker is why they didn’t get over the line.
Last season, injuries hurt Arsenal so badly that they stood no chance against Liverpool, who weren’t really affected by fitness issues all campaign.
In the summer, Mikel Arteta solved that problem by signing eight new players, and Merson believes that the way the Arsenal manager did that – ‘quietly’ has made a massive difference.
He wrote on Sportskeeda: “Noni Madueke came in for Bukayo Saka after an injury during warm-up the other day. And in that game, they introduced Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, Eberechi Eze, Gabriel Martinelli and Riccardo Calafiori off the bench!
“How many of these good players are not getting in their team?
“Arsenal went about it so quietly and built a really strong squad. I remember Pep Guardiola doing it at Manchester City, but that was big news with players costing £60 or £70 million.
“But Arsenal have just built an unbelievable squad so quietly.”
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Arsenal made two very underrated signings in the summer
Merson is right, the way Arsenal have built their squad has been unbelievable.
The likes of Martin Zubimendi, Viktor Gyokeres and Eze made all the noise in the summer, and all three of them have contributed.
But the two unsung heroes are Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie.
The two defenders have filled in for Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes when they were out, and both performed brilliantly.
If Arsenal didn’t have them, we think they wouldn’t be where they are in the Premier League and Champions League tables right now.
Those two signings could be the reason why Arsenal go on and win the two competitions this season.
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