Mikel Arteta must do something he has not done for three years after £260m transfer spend

It is fair to say that Mikel Arteta, like any other top-flight manager, will have his trusted stars at Arsenal.

It is a squad game when you are challenging on multiple fronts, but there will be certain players in the Arsenal set-up that Arteta will know he can count on above others.

And that has certainly been the case for the past few seasons.

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Arsenal have finished as runners-up in each of the last three Premier League campaigns - twice falling behind Manchester City and in 2024/25 being behind Liverpool.

Arteta and new sporting director Andrea Berta will be looking to add strength in depth to the squad during the summer transfer window.

football.london understands the Gunners are keen to add a new goalkeeper - a back-up to David Raya - defender, midfielder, striker and even wide player to the squad this summer.

Five new additions would be a dream scenario for Arteta and there are a number of players already linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium. Kepa Arrizabalaga and Martin Zubimendi should join from Bournemouth and Real Sociedad respectively, with the likes of Benjamin Sesko, Rodrygo and Jorrel Hato - amongst other defenders - being linked with moves that could total £260million.

If Berta gets five players through the door for Arteta, however, the Arsenal boss must use them to their fullest. Arteta has often been criticised for not rotating his squad enough and perhaps relying on the same trusted players too much, which has in turn led to injury problems, the like of which cost Arsenal in 2024/25.

Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Magalhaes and Kai Havertz all spent periods on the sidelines at times when Arteta and Arsenal needed them.

The lack of strength in depth may well have been one of the defining factors in the Premier League title race, with champions Liverpool being lucky when it came to sidelined stars in comparison.

In 2024/25 Arteta had eight players who played in more than 68% of the Premier League matches. He also had eight players - five of whom were the same names as this season - who played more than 77% of the available Premier League minutes in 2023/24.

Nine players in the 2022/23 season played more than 70% of the Premier League minutes available, showing there is always a trusted core under Arteta.

As mentioned above, that will be true of most managers in the Premier League and is no criticism, but with five new signings coming through the door at the Emirates Stadium, Arteta should have the players to be able to rotate more and he must do so and not run his trusted group into the ground if the Gunners are to be successful.