A month ago
Arsenal's summer signings all have the physicality that Mikel Arteta deems necessary to win a Premier League title.
The north London club have spent shrewdly this window, permanently signing up last year's Golden Glove winner David Raya and sealing a £42 million deal for in-demand 6ft2in Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori.
Real Sociedad ace Mikel Merino is also poised to join for a reported £30m, but the Gunners are supposedly holding off until they're able to offload an asset of their own before completing the Spaniard’s transfer—despite personal terms and a fee being supposedly agreed upon.
All three players crucially have something in common: they are over 6 feet tall. Arteta has previously admitted he looks for exceptional physical characteristics in his players, and this could be the key to his side finally hoisting a league title aloft.
“Physicality is something that you need in the League,” Arteta told The Standard. “City are one of the most powerful teams in the league, that’s for sure, and you need to match that up.”
Pep Guardiola's backline at Manchester City, with the addition of Josko Gvardiol last season, has proven to be quite a tall order for any side to break down. Ruben Dias, Manual Akanji, John Stones, Nathan Ake, and Kyle Walker outmuscle the attackers they face.
Matching up to Guardiola's impervious citizens is exactly what Arteta has done. His back-line, which could soon feature Calafiori should he oust Oleksandr Zinchenko from the starting lineup, would dominate opponents much like City's, as Gabriel, William Saliba, and Ben White are all listed at 6 feet or taller.
Insert 6ft2in Merino into the midfield, and the squad becomes not just a deadly threat from set pieces but a team that physically outclasses other sides.
Last summer's recruitment parameters mirror this year’s, as the combined £170m spent on Kai Havertz and Declan Rice culminated in two giants who now man Arteta's side's spine.
“He’s got the physical qualities we have been missing for a while, and that’s why we had to get him,” Arteta said when Rice arrived from West Ham. “He gives us something very different with his quality and size,” added Arsenal's Spanish boss when queried about what Havertz brings to the squad.
The Invincibles side that sauntered to a league title win in 2004 featured an equally endearing set of players, with Sol Campbell, Patrick Vieira, and Thierry Henry all towering above the opponents they put to the sword.
Arteta is clearly hoping that his side, with the addition of Calafiori and the potential signing of Merino, can tackle the league in a similar vein and use their physicality to overpower all those who stand in the way of them and the Premier League trophy.