Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was bold in his claims after the 5-0 drubbing of Southampton in the FA Cup at the weekend. After Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick and Danny Welbeck scored twice on his return from injury, Wenger was prepared to say that his current crop of attacking players are stronger than the “Invincibles” he had in 2004:
“I think certainly numbers wise and quality wise, this is the best attacking unit. We had never so many players who could perform and score goals – certainly never. “Bergkamp, Henry… and Van Persie [came] behind them. Wiltord, Pires, it was not bad. They had the quality, but [we have] the large number [now].”
I wouldn’t go as far as Wenger saying the attacking prowess of the current Arsenal squad would surpass that incredible team but in terms of fighting on all fronts in the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League this campaign, they are certainly strong enough to compete.
Let’s look at every position on the pitch. In goal you have Petr Cech, still one of the best in the league, backed up by a Colombia’s number one David Ospina, who is definitely capable of top class performances when called upon.
In defence, you have Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny at centre half. They have been a very solid partnership for Wenger so far this season, helping the Gunners to the joint fourth best defence in the league.
Their backups Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista do have question marks over them though, but if they are only called upon for a limited number of matches this season then I think Arsenal will not have too many issues. It is the one area I think the Arsenal squad could do with reinforcing though, especially with Mertesacker close to the end of his career.
The full back areas could be another where some improvement could be made but to say they are the weak links would be going too far. Hector Bellerin’s ability is undoubted while on the opposite side, his fellow Spaniard Nacho Monreal is competent. In terms of depth, you can’t argue with the numbers with Mathieu Debuchy, Carl Jenkinson and Kieran Gibbs all still currently at the club.
Arsene Wenger has said that the both Jenkinson and Debuchy can leave. That would suggest that this will be an issue the club will look to rectify in the summer as no departures now seem likely on deadline day.
As Wenger highlights, even though there is perhaps more depth than quality in the backline, there is definitely both in abundance in forward areas. Despite essentially being Arsenal’s fourth choice striker, Lucas Perez has managed six goals in eight starts, while Welbeck’s timely return with two goals at the weekend will give the Gunners even more firepower.
With Alexis Sanchez on 17 goals already for the season and Giroud waiting patiently as his able deputy, there are numerous options for Wenger to choose from to play up front.
Midfield is arguably even stronger in some areas. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s timely display in central midfield against the Saints will give Arsenal another option in the middle of the park while Mohamed Elneny will soon return from the African Cup of Nations to strengthen numbers weakened by the loss to injury of Santi Cazorla.
With Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin all returning to training after injuries, the size of the squad is growing by the day, and the likes of Alex Iwobi and Theo Walcott also add more depth.
I don’t think you can say that this squad has quite the strength in depth of that “Invincibles” team but if you look at the numbers, and the level of quality, there is enough there to take on three competitions until the end of the season. If more injuries and form dips occur however, especially if the squad is competing on all three fronts heading into the final weeks of the season, then we will see how strong the squad actually is.
