Mikel Arteta admission highlights his one Arsenal failure amid transfer difficulty

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Arsenal have suffered with several injury issues over the course of the season, and Mikel Arteta has lamented the lack of depth in his squad.

Arteta and Edu Gaspar spent heavily in the summer, bringing in Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber, Kai Havertz and David Raya for a huge outlay, whilst also letting several players leave.

Timber was unlucky to pick up a long-term injury on his Premier League debut, whilst Raya and Havertz have both taken time to settle, with Rice becoming an instant fan favourite.

Kieran Tierney was loaned out after Timber picked up an injury, and Arsenal paid to terminate the contract of Nicolas Pepe after the transfer window had shut.

With this in mind, Arteta’s comments have not gone down well in some quarters, as he is perhaps to blame for the problem he now faces.

Mikel Arteta caused Arsenal’s squad depth problem

Speaking to TNT Sports, Arteta claimed that Arsenal’s depth has been an issue for him this season.

“We have one of the thinnest squads in the league, that’s for sure,” he stated.

“And when you talk about the numbers, especially in certain areas, we are really thin.

“It wasn’t possible [to do any January deals, and now we didn’t have the capacity to improve the team in the way that we think we want to improve it. So we decided not to do something yet.”

Arsenal have not signed anyone in the January window, with financial fair play issues preventing any incomings without sales.

Arsenal only have themselves to blame for squad issues

Arteta simply does not have a fair argument to justify being frustrated over squad depth. Arsenal are lacking in depth at left-back and on the right wing, after he chose to let Tierney and Pepe leave for little financial gain.

If Arsenal needed to invest in those areas in the summer, this should have been prioritised over a £65m deal for Havertz, who has been disappointing since his arrival as one of Arsenal’s highest earners in a position where Emile Smith Rowe is struggling for minutes.

Even if he truly believed Pepe and Tierney were not suitable for his team, they should have been replaced before they were let go. Pepe could have offered another rotational option for Bukayo Saka, and Tierney could have been a better fit at left-back than centre-back Jakub Kiwior.

Arsenal’s inability to add to their squad in January comes directly as a result of spending so much in the summer, and whilst Rice was a necessary addition, Havertz joined, with it unclear which position he could play in, and has not solved any issues in either midfield or attack.

Arteta’s key failure this year, despite all his positive actions throughout the season and in what has been an overall successful reign at Arsenal, has been allocating resources correctly.

Spending over £200m in a summer window to then lament the lack of depth in the squad halfway through the season, highlights how he failed to address the issues within his selection roster when he had the chance to do so, and he now has to live with his decisions and find internal solutions to the problems he is facing.