Arsenal are reportedly working hard behind the scenes on improving their squad so it can be closer to the kind of quality and depth that their title rivals Manchester City have, with cover for Bukayo Saka likely to be on the club’s agenda.
That’s according to former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown, who spoke to Football Insider about how Arsenal will probably be putting the work in ahead of January to ensure they have better depth out wide so they can rest Saka from time to time.
Saka has been a key player for Arsenal in recent years, but there isn’t really much in the way of cover or competition for the England international, with loan signing Raheem Sterling yet to make much of an impact since his arrival at the Emirates Stadium.
This has been an issue for some time at Arsenal, with Saka playing a lot of football for one so young, and it would surely be good for Mikel Arteta to be able to give the 23-year-old some time off every now and then without hurting the quality of his line up too much in the process.
Bukayo Saka cover needed for Arsenal?
Discussing Arsenal’s plans ahead of January, Brown told Football Insider: “Yes, they(Arsenal)’ll be looking to strengthen their depth.
“If I put my chief scout’s hat on – when you’ve got a good side like Arsenal have, you’re always planning for what happens if players get injured.
“I know Arsenal will be doing that now in case somebody like Saka gets injured.
“They’ve done a brilliant job to bring themselves up to a level where they can compete with Manchester City, but I don’t think they have the same type of depth City have at the moment.
“With City, they have players who can come into the side at any time and nobody notices a difference – Arsenal haven’t quite got that yet.
“But they’re working hard behind the scenes to get to that level.”
