Arsenal have been ranked as the Premier League’s strongest squad for depth, with Mikel Arteta’s side judged to have the best alternatives to their established starting XI and the greatest ability to withstand injuries, rotation and a congested schedule.
The assessment combines player values, playing-time data, positional cover, rotation, substitute impact, injury records and the demands of each club’s forthcoming fixtures. Arsenal emerged at the top of both the overall Squad Depth Index and the Competitive Depth Index.
The findings underline the scale of Arteta’s resources beyond his preferred team. Arsenal’s modelled first XI is valued at £580 million, while their second XI is worth about £536 million, meaning the club retains roughly 92 per cent of the estimated value of its starting side even when all 11 players are replaced.
Arsenal lead Premier League squad depth rankings
The club focused on strengthening its reserves during the summer, with Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa among the additions identified as further enhancing an already well-stocked midfield and defence.
Arsenal’s recruitment has come after a season in which Arteta had to manage a significant injury list. The club will hope its expanded options can reduce the effect of any similar problems while coping with the demands ahead.
The average value of Arsenal’s named substitutes in Premier League matches this season has been £367 million, comfortably the highest figure in the division. Based on the typical premium paid by Premier League clubs over listed market valuations, that estimate would equate to almost £500 million in transfer spending.
Brentford are the most notable side outside the traditional leading clubs in that measure, with an average bench value of £129 million. The three promoted teams — Hull, Coventry and Ipswich — have the lowest average bench values.
Market value, however, does not automatically demonstrate whether players can make a meaningful contribution. Arsenal also rank first for the raw total of goal involvements produced by their current squad as substitutes, and second only to Brighton for adjusted goal involvements per 90 minutes.
Arsenal players have combined for 27 goals and assists from 4,340 substitute minutes since the beginning of last season. Once adjusted for the size of each player’s sample, that represents approximately 0.54 goal involvements per 90 minutes.
Depth is valuable only when managers use it
The analysis also examined how often clubs trust their alternatives. Players were divided according to Premier League minutes into core players, the first rotation group and a deeper rotation group.
Arsenal and Manchester City have given players ranked from 12th to 22nd about 15 per cent of their league minutes. By contrast, Manchester United’s core players account for more than 88 per cent of their minutes, a figure exceeded only by Bournemouth and Everton.
That leaves United among the clubs considered best equipped to deal with their fixture demands, despite Michael Carrick having made comparatively limited use of his rotational options. Tottenham have already given a relatively high share of minutes to players outside their core XI, even though they are not competing on as many fronts.
Manchester City’s depth is affected by the drop in value when Erling Haaland is absent. Their second XI is worth £428.2 million less than their first XI, a considerably larger fall than Arsenal’s.
Aston Villa and Hull are the only clubs whose second XIs are valued above their usage-based first XIs. The assessment notes that both sides made late moves in the transfer market, meaning their rankings could change as new arrivals become integrated.
Positions where Premier League clubs remain vulnerable
Even the strongest squads have areas where cover is less convincing. Arsenal’s main weakness is identified as left-wing, following the departures of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, while Liverpool are considered particularly short on the opposite flank after Mohamed Salah’s exit.
Brighton, Crystal Palace and Newcastle have the weakest attacking-midfield departments in terms of quality and cover. All three generally operate without a recognised number 10, which helps explain the nature of the shortfall.
Everton rank 20th for centre-forward depth, with a score of 36.1. That reflects the quality of the alternatives behind their established starter, Thierno Barry, rather than a claim that Barry himself is the division’s weakest striker.
The current Premier League champions are among the most balanced teams overall, although only Aston Villa rank above them for pure Squad Depth Score — a measure of the strength of alternatives compared with the first team. The assessment says departures including Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, Youri Tielemans, Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez have narrowed the gap between new starters and rotation options.
Young players and the impact of injuries
Chelsea have the most valuable group of young first-team players in the division, with seven players aged 21 or under carrying a combined estimated value of £229.5 million. Manchester City follow on £190.9 million, ahead of Brighton, Manchester United and Bournemouth.
Value and opportunity do not always match. Brighton and Manchester United are the only two of those five clubs to rank in the top five for minutes given to their young players. Manchester City’s group has played just 257 minutes, while Arsenal’s two young first-team players, valued at £72.7 million, have accumulated 282 minutes.
The model also tested the impact of removing each club’s first-team player in turn and rebuilding the strongest possible line-up from the remaining squad. Goalkeepers feature prominently among the players whose absence would cause the greatest disruption, with Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen judged to represent the biggest individual loss in the league.
For some clubs, the most significant vulnerability is instead outfield. George Hemmings is identified as Aston Villa’s biggest potential loss, Adrien Truffert’s absence would affect Bournemouth most, and Crystal Palace are considered particularly reliant on Adam Wharton.
The overall findings place Arsenal at the head of the Premier League’s squad-depth rankings, combining exceptional reserve value with proven impact from the bench. The extent to which Arteta uses those options may prove as important as the quality available to him.
