Mikel Arteta calls Arsenal squad size 'unsustainable' with 30 first-team players still on books
Arsenal squad size labelled "unsustainable" by Mikel Arteta two weeks ahead of Premier League season with 30 first-team players on books; Nicolas Pepe, Cedric Soares and Albert Sambi Lokonga among those left out of US tour
Thursday 27 July 2023 10:30, UK
Mikel Arteta said Arsenal's 30-man first-team squad is "unsustainable" when asked about potential incomings ahead of the new season.
The Gunners have taken 31 players on their pre-season tour of the USA, but with several of their U21s in the travelling party a number of first-team members have been left behind and are lacking match practice with two weeks to go until the start of the Premier League.
Nicolas Pepe, Cedric Soares and Albert Sambi Lokonga, who all spent time out on loan away from the Emirates last season, are among that group but remain contracted to the club with a month left of the summer transfer window.
Though Arteta did not single out any player by name after their 5-3 win over Barcelona in Los Angeles, he did say the size of his squad would need reducing.
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"We have 30 players here which is unsustainable, and obviously the market is still open," Arteta said. "Things can happen - but we are prepared.
"We are really happy with the squad we have at the moment; we obviously have improvements to make in terms of what we want to do in games, and we have to do that. Overall, I'm really pleased with the team."
One player who could make way is Folarin Balogun, a target for Inter Milan this summer - though the Gunners have put a £50m price tag around his neck ahead of any potential move.
Arteta revealed the striker missed the friendly victory over Barcelona with a foot injury, and was non-committal about his future when asked whether he had a role to play in the team this season.
He said: "Yes, we will have to see. First of all, he has to be fit and available to play minutes."
The Arsenal boss was more positive about the impact of Gabriel Jesus at the SoFi Stadium, as he reflected on seven different players finding the net across the Gunners' first four games of their pre-season campaign.
"If we have somebody that can score 25, 30, 40 goals, then great," he said. "Today, Gabby [Jesus] didn't score but it's the best Gabby that I've seen for months.
"Again, he gave that energy, that belief, he was creating lot of chaos, a lot of good moments - he was making everybody better and I'm really pleased with that.
"And the contribution from Kai [Havertz] as well, that's why he's playing, he's got that quality, in and around that position with Leo. We have a lot of options up front and they're going to have to compete between them to give me a hard time."
New arrival Declan Rice was a surprise absentee in Los Angeles but Arteta confirmed his £105m man was only troubled by a minor niggle and gave a further update on the fitness of the recovering Oleksandr Zinchenko, who is yet to feature in pre-season.
"Dec [Rice] had quite a strong kick in training and didn't want to take the risk, he wasn't comfortable to train yesterday and today, and we decided not to play him," he said.
"With Alex [Zinchenko], he had a muscular injury again unfortunately. He's getting back - I think he'll be back soon, but it's a shame that he hasn't been with us the whole tour."
