Sunday 16 October 2016 16:28, UK
Arsenal's strength in depth proves Arsene Wenger has his strongest squad in years, according to the Sunday Supplement panel.
Theo Walcott's double and a Mesut Ozil strike ensured Arsenal overcame Swansea 3-2 to move level on points at the top of the Premier League with Manchester City.
Victory at the Emirates was also Arsenal's sixth league win in a row, and the Daily Telegraph's Jeremy Wilson admitted it's difficult to find a better squad in England.
"There is a strength in depth about them that there hasn't been before," said Wilson.
"He's deliberately holding [Aaron] Ramsey and [Olivier] Giroud back and giving them a full pre-season almost. I feel like it's ready for what happens in November when they lose two or three players and normally things unravel to some extent at that point of the season.
"If you go through the squad, the team they played in the EFL Cup against Nottingham Forest, and the team they'll play against Reading, it's full of internationals.
"From one to 23, it's hard to find a better squad. Whether they've got the best team, and that striker - if [Alexis] Sanchez can carry on - is maybe the question, but they have a squad that is as strong as any in the league, and stronger than anything they've had in a few years."
With no title since 2004, questions have been asked about Arsenal's mentality since, as several challenges for the league have diminished, often with months to spare.
However, Wilson believes this idea of their players fading away towards the end of the season belongs to an Arsenal squad of old.
"This thing about 'they'll bottle it', you could level that at the [Cesc] Fabregas group of players - Denilson and all those lot.
"This lot, if you go through the team; [Petr] Cech has won everything, Ozil's won the World Cup, Sanchez has won Copa America twice.
"Arsenal as a club have not won the league for a long time, but those players have won everything in the last five or ten years, so we will see what happens.
"We know the history is that come April or May that they are not still up there but they look like they should be."
The Mail on Sunday's Oliver Holt supported Wilson's claims, highlighting the options they have up front while also reserving special praise for Ozil, who turned 28 on Saturday.
"They look like they've got real options this time," said Holt. "Walcott, in terms of the threat up front - they've also got Sanchez - but he looked like a 'fox in the box' type player yesterday, a couple of good finishes and should have had a couple more.
"I'm always impressed with Ozil, I think he's a magical player to watch. He's 28 now and I found it reassuring that he's in his prime and we can enjoy watching him at this level for a lot longer.
"He's one of the many privileges of watching the Premier League, he was terrific yesterday.
"They are going well, but there are still concerns, as there always are, about whether they can maintain this."
