Arteta’s ‘very clear’ decision on two Arsenal stars proves their biggest problem in PL title race | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta has confirmed he has no intention of letting two squad players leave Arsenal in January, so their biggest Premier League title fear is clear…

Everyone has spent a lot of time pretending that the Gunners are not the real deal this season and they reasserted their dominance in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

Their important 2-0 win against Brentford extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 18 matches as they have established themselves as the best team in the Premier League and perhaps in Europe.

Arsenal are helped by Liverpool’s crisis and the inconsistency of Manchester City and Chelsea, but the north London outfit have been impressively going about their business as the most complete team in the division.

Arteta’s growth as a head coach has contributed to Arsenal’s gradual rise, but their near-faultless transfer record and huge expenditure have also been vital.

This increased depth and quality on the bench means opportunities for certain squad players have been limited. This has particularly been the case with Ethan Nwaneri, while Gabriel Jesus faces the same treatment once he’s back to full fitness.

Therefore, it has been speculated that these two players (and others, potentially) could leave in January to increase their game time in a World Cup year, but Arteta has explained why this will not happen.

“At the moment we haven’t had a situation where players have been out of the squad for three or four weeks in a row,” Arteta added on Nwaneri and Jesus.

“We are fulfilling the squad with the players we have fit, so at the moment it is very clear that there is no option to do that [sell players or let them leave on loan].”

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On potentially making a signing or two, Arteta added: “We always have to be prepared.

“The moment that we have an option to improve the squad or to protect the squad, depending on what happens, I think we need to be open to it, what is going to happen from here until the window is closed because that is football.

“We don’t know, but certainly we are going to be alert and we know where the risk can come in terms of the squad and be ready just in case we have to do something.”

Earlier this week, we explained why Arsenal’s ongoing injury crisis, not Man City or Chelsea, will be their greatest test in this season’s title race and Arteta’s stance on Nwaneri and Jesus proves this is the case.

Will Nwaneri or Jesus have enough game time during the run-in to be satisfied at Arsenal? Probably not. But for the Gunners, this does not matter.

This is a huge season for Arsenal and Arteta as they simply must win at least the Premier League or Champions League, so Arteta would be foolish to take a calculated risk by letting a quality squad player leave on loan when they are good enough to come in and thrive if injuries take over again.