Defending Champions of the EPL, Arsenal began their 2026/27 campaign with a statement win as they conveniently dispatched Coventry 3-0 at the Emirates.
Goals from Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, and Odegaard were enough to get the team going – letting Coventry know what territory they are now on.
Before this opener, they beat Manchester City 3-0 to win their 14th Community Shield.
Taking both games into account, there is something a lot of people aren’t saying, especially clubs in the Premier League and that’s the HUGE problem.
The kind of squad depth that Arsenal has and the careful coordination of players Arteta has to work with is a dangerous combo – not sure the EPL has seen anything like that.
And this is not just players with setpiece abilities but players who understand the Arteta philosophy and have the quality to even start.
In Arsenal players cannot complain for a lack of playing time because it only shows you do not have the quality to start as much as you should.
Looking at depth, in every position, Arsenal has 2 players that can comfortably deliver the best results.
For the striker, there is Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres, the latter didn’t need to feature vs Coventry even though he was named on the bench. Mikel Merino who is traditionally a midfielder also gets deployed as a false 9 and 10.
For the right wing, you have Bukayo Saka and fellow Englishman Noni Madueke.
On the left, new sign and rather very astonishing winger Christian Tzolis is there and of course their longstanding Brazilian Martinelli who seems to have become okay with coming from the bench to make an impact.
The number 10 position is for captain Odegaard and Eberechi Eze was signed for that same purpose, although he gets deployed a little bit to the left.
In central and defensive midfield, Arteta has Declan Rice, Lewis-Skelly whose conversion from LB seems to be working brilliantly, Martin Zubimendi who had an impressive debut season, Bruno Guimaraes who made his move from the Magpies has joined.
The left back position has Calafiori there and Lewis-Skelly can still be deployed there too.
Centre back options for Arteta include Gabriel, Saliba who is out injured but now has a replacement in Ezri Konsa, Mosquera, and Hincapie.
Then the right back has Jurrien Timber, although out with an ankle injury and Ben White.
Arteta operates a very interesting defensive structure at times where we see all of the back 4 being centrebacks so it is not even a problem that any of the leftbacks or rightbacks are injured.
For example, against Coventry, he substituted Calafiori at RB for Hincapie – yes, the Ecuadorian has been deployed a few times as a LB since he is a left CB.
And of course for the goalkeeping position, they have got David Raya who has won the Golden Glove 3x in a row and Kepa, a UCL winner with both Chelsea and Real Madrid.
Nothing screams squad depth like Arsenal does.
And you can trust Mikel Arteta to exploit this to the fullest. Last season, they won the league and went all the way to the final of the UCL, losing on penalties and the squad did not look fatigued or exhausted.
That level of squad depth is not something any other team can boast of, maybe except North London rivals Tottenham.
Could Arsenal win the 2026/27 EPL?
It is hard to see a team that can stop or rival this Arsenal squad – not even the title thirsty Enzo Maresca and his super Manchester City team of big signings and highly paid players could dent Arsenal’s shining armor during the Community Shield.
Is it too early to call?
I think not.
Arsenal remains the most solid defensive team in the EPL today, even with the loss of Saliba, they have Mosquera and Konsa now to the rescue.
They were already controlling the midfield with Declan Rice and now they have got Guimaraes, another workhorse joining them.
The only thing fans may have complained about was the attack. Arsenal relied so much on setpieces to score goals and fans would love for the attackers to be more clinical in front of goal.
From the community shield game to this match vs Coventry, it already feels like Arteta has found the key to unlocking opposition defenses and having his strikers score.
Havertz is definitely one to look out for, provided he is able to stay fit.
How to Fix this HUGE Problem?
It is hard to see an EPL team today that can go toe-to-toe with Arsenal. They have not just achieved squad depth, there is cohesion in the team.
Everyone is connected.
Even the new signings do not feel out of place. They just come in and slot in.
When you watch Arsenal today, it feels like you are watching a unit, a team – not different players, it almost seems like they are playing at the same time. You can see it.
That kind of unity is the problem we are talking about.
No, it is not a problem for Arsenal. It is a problem for EPL teams, managers, and rival fans.