Mikel Arteta must improve Arsenal’s strength in depth in summer revamp

It felt like a throwback to darker days when Mikel Arteta, wan and downcast, faced the media after his side’s destruction by Brighton. There have been few reasons for dejection this season and, even after draws or defeats, he has generally emphasised the sunny aspects of Arsenal’s revival. This time, though, there was the clear sense a title dream had died and the note Arteta struck was bleak.

“If a team is capable of doing that when it comes to the biggest stage, there’s a lot of things to analyse and think about because it cannot happen,” he said ominously, subsequently reiterating they were short of the level needed to compete for honours domestically and in the Champions League.

To an extent that is nothing new: Arsenal were always going to require a revamp this summer and there is little question they have over-performed according to their playing resources. The manner of their drop-off is best observed by chopping their season in two. During the first 19 games, up to and including the dramatic win against Manchester United in January, they won 50 points at an average of 2.63 per match; the following 17 have brought 31 points at an average of 1.82. Arsenal spent the first half of the campaign in the vein of runaway champions and the second in form befitting a side that would usually finish somewhere between third and sixth.

The difference is stark, although some degree of tail-off might have been expected from a young team in that position for the first time. It will make frustrating reading for Arteta, who could bemoan injuries but knows they cannot account for everything. Gabriel Jesus and William Saliba have been missed at different points of the campaign, and Takehiro Tomiyasu’s versatility would have come in