Arsenal's key advantage over Manchester City-and why it may push another Premier League sprint.

　　If 2022 is the year when Arsenal build a team capable of winning the league title, then the hope of North London is that they can form a strong enough squad to cross the finish line in 2023. Fighting for the championship is not just about 11 people. Arsenal understand that the depth of the team is as important as the quality of Mikel Arteta's starting lineup.

　　Internally, Arsenal admitted that the lack of top substitute options in their battle with Manchester City last season was fatal. Arteta's team is the best in the league when their key players are healthy, but once they suffer some injuries, the momentum is lost. In the same game in March, the absence of defenders William Saliba and Takehiro Okada will be the turning point of their season.

　　Now, as they prepare to face Manchester City again in the Community Shield Cup on Sunday, Arsenal's squad seems stronger and deeper than at any time in recent years. In 2023 alone, they brought in Giorgino, Jacob Kiviol, Leandro Trossat, Kay Havertz, Julien Timber and Declan Rice. Except Giorgio, all these players can play in multiple positions.

　　Since the beginning of the year, these signings have cost Arsenal about 250 million pounds. As a result, Arteta has more choices than ever before.

　　Because of Arsenal's newfound players' strength, they now seem to be more diverse and deeper than Manchester City, at least on paper. Manchester City still has probably the strongest defensive option in Premier League history, but Arteta has more ways to mix his methods in midfield and striker. This is largely due to the departure of Irkay Gündoan and riyad mahrez from Etihad. These two players scored 26 goals in all competitions last season. Kovac is Gündoan's replacement, scoring six goals in five seasons at Chelsea, while Mahrez's replacement has not yet signed. It should be said that Manchester City already has a small lineup, that is, in terms of the number of options available to Guardiola. Guardiola said in February: "We only have 18 or 19 players, and our depth is probably the smallest in the Premier League." The difference between Arsenal and Manchester City last year was that Guardiola had full confidence in most players, which enabled him to rotate constantly. Does Manchester City have a quantitative depth? No. But they definitely have quality depth. This is an area where Arsenal have been trying to narrow the gap. Sunday's meeting may be the first sign of their success in this regard. Artta will not have injured Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zincenko, but the Spaniards can now use Havertz and Timber as high-level alternatives. On the offensive end,Arteta can choose Jesus, Havertz, Trossat, Gabriel Martin Nellie, Bukayo Saca, Eddie Nkati and Les Nelson this season. Up to now, he also has a young striker, Florin Balogun, who performed well in France last season. Balogun is likely to be sold before the transfer window closes (after spending a lot of money), but at present he still offers another option.

　　In contrast, there are only three recognized strikers in Manchester City: Erin Harland, Julian Alvarez and Jack Grealish. Phil Forden and Bernardo Silva can also play on the wing, but many people think they are more suitable for attacking midfielders than strikers. Young Cole Palmer will definitely get more playing time this season, but he is far from becoming a mature first-team player.

　　In midfield, Arsenal have joined the versatile Rice besides Giorgio, Thomas Parti, martin odegaard, Emile Smith-Rowe and Fabio Vieira.

　　Only on the defensive end, Arsenal is obviously insufficient compared with Manchester City. The current lineup of Manchester City includes kyle walker, Joe Cancelo, john stones, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Diaz, Nathan Ike, Emerick Rappolt and Ruben Diaz. Meanwhile, Josco Gual Dior will join us for 77 million pounds. From any angle, this is a strong defense line.

　　Of course, the transfer window is still open. Manchester City may bring in a new striker. It is said that they are considering bringing in Crystal Palace winger Michael Olyser. However, at present, this treble team is extremely thin in staffing, while Arsenal is growing.