Mikel Arteta might be excited for the new season, but he’s about to dish out some early disappointment with a few players set to be left behind in London this weekend.
With nine spots available on the bench at Old Trafford, Arsenal still have 28 senior players on the books, plus teenagers Tommy Setford and Max Dowman hovering in the background. The maths isn’t hard: some egos are about to be bruised.
Andrea Berta is working to trim the squad – as many as five could yet be moved on before the window shuts – but until then Arteta has more awkward conversations ahead.
Even those who travel aren’t guaranteed much comfort. When the team sheets drop on Sunday, eyes will gravitate to the attack. Is it Kai Havertz, who’s been nursing a niggle in pre-season, or Viktor Gyokeres, still finding his feet after a slightly delayed arrival from Sporting Lisbon?
Pressed on whether it’s a straight shoot-out between the two, Arteta kept his cards close but admitted he’s enjoying the luxury of choice. After last season’s injury chaos, you can’t really blame him.
He said: “I play with 11 players, there are going to be some players on the bench that are going to be used, some others that cannot be used, some players that we’re going to have to leave in the stands. That’s the level.
“That’s the next level that we’re going to face, something that we probably haven’t faced before and then I heard a lot that you have two players per position. Well, we have three and four because there are players that can play in different positions as well. So, it’s going to be about earning the right to play, to compete and when you don’t have the chance to do that, to cooperate in the right way with any teammate to improve the level.
“It’s going to happen to all of them because the season is going to be so demanding that the first week is going to be a little bit different. But the moment we start to play three times a week, it’s going to flow in a really natural way.”
While it’s unclear whether 15-year-old Dowman will make the cut this weekend – he was given some time off after the Villarreal friendly – he’s certain to be the next off the Hale End production line to be handed a debut. When he does, he’ll follow in the footsteps of Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Bukayo Saka and Reiss Nelson.
“That shows the great work that has been done in the academy throughout the years,” said Arteta of the talent produced in-house.
“Especially because those players have come to the first team and performed at the highest level without any professional experience. And that’s a very different case to any other player at a big club that has been playing at 17, 18, 19, 20 with many other experiences before that that is long, so playing at different teams.
“So that shows again what the academy has done, the preparation of these boys, the maturity of these boys, and as well the quality that we have in this squad to support the young players, to feel so comfortable immediately to perform at the highest level. So it’s a compliment for everybody at the club.”